


Mutant Minority

by avidreader96



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Gen, Many Original Characters - Freeform, Multi, Other, basically just using the premise with some similar characters, not based on movie/comic/etc., original story within universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:47:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 52,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avidreader96/pseuds/avidreader96
Summary: Myka Reynolds is a mutant. She's been hiding it for 18 years, but when a tragic accident occurs, outing mutants everywhere, her life gets turned upside down. She is publicly apprehended while at university, taken to a "research" facility with other mutants, and becomes a leader among them. Then they're rescued by a man named Charles Xavier, and life gets even more interesting. AU. Originally posted on FF.net
Kudos: 1





	1. The Beginning

Our outing to the general public was anything but advantageous to us. The government had known about us, but hadn't deemed us a threat when there were tangible and active threats to confront. It wasn't until a particularly powerful but young mutant lost control of his ability and the government couldn't cover it up quick enough. The boy was thirteen; his name was Daniel. Daniel's father, James, was at work at his architectural firm. Daniel's mother, Kate, was a stay at home mom. She was also abusive. Daniel and his mom were home, and he ran out into the front yard, trying to get away from her, and she followed him out. Seeing as it was noon on a pleasantly weathered Saturday, practically the whole neighborhood was outside. And the rest came to watch the spectacle when they heard the shouting. The police were called, but they wouldn't get there soon enough to see everything.

Daniel was telekinetic, and his oddities made him an outcast at school. What no one knew until the incident was that his oddities came from his struggle to hide his abilities. He was more than just an exceptionally powerful telekinetic, he was an abused telekinetic who couldn't control it. More than likely, he just wanted his mom to stop yelling obscene things at him. The neighbors' reports and the videos taken on phones show that she actually started to beat him, but that didn't last long. All the reports and videos are consistent on what happened after Daniel fell to his knees, clutching his head and shouting in agony. As he dropped, his mother was tossed backward about ten feet by an invisible force. She wasn't injured, and she just came back at him, but by that time, he was seething in anger rather than yelling in pain. He screamed, it sounded like the word "stop" but no one pays attention to that because what happened next was of much more interest. As he screamed, a bright white ball of light appeared between him and his mother, and it expanded rapidly, in less than a heartbeat, and when it dissipated, nothing was left of the boy, his mother, or their property. The grass was burned brown but there was no indication anything had ever been there. And it was all caught on camera. The police arrived just as Kate was thrown back, so of course to them it appeared like it was all on Daniel.

When the US government finally admitted the boy was a mutant, the world went crazy. Other governments came out admitting that they had known about the existence of "unique peoples" but that there was nothing to be concerned about, and they should continue on with their daily lives. The insistence didn't take hold, however, with the video of Daniel posted by a neighbor receiving over 5 million views in four hours.

Of course, no one mentioned that he was being abused, and everyone knew it, yet had done nothing to stop it. Daniel was simply a mutant who lost control, which proved they couldn't be trusted in society. Never mind the fact he was being abused, he was also a thirteen year old boy, who was an outcast, and could do things that no one else could, making him feel more alone.

The first month after the revelation, suspicions were high and everyone was panicked. Anything out of the ordinary had people claiming others were mutants, and mutant hate crimes outranked any other kind. There were marches and protests, stores and restaurants refused to service mutants, despite the fact they had no idea who actually was a mutant. After the month passed with no other deaths at the hands of a mutant, people calmed as they got distracted, but the government was still being pressure to do something about the "mutant problem." Bills and policies were being written up and presented in both state and federal governments. Nothing was close to passing yet, partially because everyone was so divided, but also because there were so many options to consider. Mutants held their breaths and stayed under the radar as they watched on television while people condemned them for being different and called for a variety of actions against them. One radical group was calling for euthanasia, and pro-mutant scientists informed the populace that the mutations were the next natural step in human evolution. A research paper by a former Oxford student about these kinds of mutations were cited frequently, quotes being used for both sides of every argument. Some scientists were proposing all mutants be rounded up and brought in for research and scientific purposes. Others claimed there were already too many for large scale round-up, but only because there was nowhere to hold them all.

It was the proposals that the mutants be studied for science that worried the mutants most; they could read between the lines and knew it really meant they'd be experimented on, and they knew they would fight before being taking into custody.

Still, as things calmed down, and there were no new mutant "sightings" or "incidents" to report, the news and conversation moved to new things happening. Three months after being outed, things had calmed down – fast, even for human attention spans, but we mutants were grateful.

Even knowing that as soon as something new and shiny happened to bring attention back to the mutants, we didn't know how to prepare ourselves. And we didn't know that the something shiny was about to happen, though it wasn't started by us.


	2. The Main Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myka regrets some life choices.

I went to the event at 2 in the morning, as promised, to visit my roommate. I dragged my friend Rae along with me to deliver pizza and the requested red Gatorade to Mia, who was participating in an annual event put on by the clubs at our university. Participants stand for 20 hours to raise money and awareness for the Children's Hospital, and they hear the stories from the children themselves and their families. It's a lot of fun, even if it is tiring, and it always raises a ton of money. Anyway, that's why I was bringing sustenance to my roommate at two in the morning. The converted basketball court in the arena was filled with people, color, loud music, and it was hot. I removed my jacket and tied it around my waist as Rae and I searched for Mia's signature bright red hair in its sleek ponytail. The arena had poor service and texts were taking forever to go through. We stood in the raised seating, looking down into the mass of people on the court, but couldn't spot her, even after ten minutes. Finally, we descended into the throng, deciding maybe we'd just bump into her. Bad plan. I had only had an inch on Rae's 5 foot 5 height, and it felt like everyone around us was about six and a half feet tall. Mia is my height so it's not like we could spot her unless we literally ran into her.

I wanted nothing more than to get out of there, away from the crowd and all the stimulus. I felt a growl start in my throat as a particularly loud song started – and I thought it had been unbearable before. I swallowed it down though, I couldn't let anyone know my secret. Even as I searched for my roommate, towing Rae behind me, I was thinking about how catastrophic that would be for me.

I am a mutant. I knew without a doubt that I would be classified as "especially dangerous" if anyone found out about me, but I'm confident no one does. It would likely mean life in a lab for me, constantly being poked and prodded. It was every mutant's worst nightmare, right next to hurting our loved ones on accident, and them turning away from us if they ever learned the truth.

"I don't see her anywhere, and I'm starting to get a headache from this terrible band" Rae said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"I know, they're really bad" I agreed. More than bad, my enhanced hearing was only making it worse; I would've sworn my ears were bleeding. Finally, a text comes through from Mia letting me know she's standing near something called the "Morale Tiki Hut." Wherever the hell that is in this chaos.

I turn to Rae to fill her in, but she's distracted by the awful band starting a new song.

"Rae!" she turns and I continue "do you see some kind of 'Morale Tiki Hut'?"

Rae just chuckles and points over my shoulder, and I laugh when I turn and discover the elusive Tiki Hut in question is a mere five feet behind me, and I can see Mia's hair as she spins around looking for us. There's still a crush of bodies to get through though, and as Rae and I force out way through, I can feel the growl starting again, only this time my nails grow a bit into the claws as well when I get roughly shoved by an over-exuberant dancer. I get myself under control just in time to bump into Mia.

"Hey! Here's the Gatorade, and the pizza," I say as I hand Mia the bottle and the Ziploc baggie with the pepperoni pizza slice.

"Thank you so much! You're the best roommate ever!" Mia gushes before downing some Gatorade.

"How long have you been standing?" Rae asks.

"18 hours now! And everything hurts!" Mia complains as she pretends to fall against me. We laugh and talk about how crazy everything is, then we all flinch as the band starts their rendition of "Timber" by Pitbull and Kesha, including a completely unnecessary harmonica. It doesn't filter through the sound system very well. My ears are almost definitely bleeding now.

The harsh noise just makes it harder for me to keep myself under control, but I manage. I don't have 18 years and change of experience under my belt for nothing. Suddenly the song ends and the band is ushered off stage. Rae and I cheer that they're gone, but Mia groans, knowing what's coming from 18 hours of experience.

"It's the morale dance!" she has to shout over the start of music as people climb onto the secondary stage, "Can you hold this until it's done?" she asks me while holding out her drink, confident that I will take it. And I do, even though I want nothing more than to get out of here.

"We'll leave once this dance thing is over, okay?" I say to Rae.

"Yeah, that sounds good, it's definitely bedtime." she says laughing. I check my phone only to realize it's now 3am. It took longer to find Mia than I had originally thought.

The "Morale Dance," Rae and I discover is really just a way to get everyone moving rather than just standing. We're watching the two rows of people on stage as they do the choreography so everyone else can follow. Rae and I just watch with some of the other visitors rather than participate.

"I'm really enjoying the enthusiasm of the guy at the far end of the second row," I say to Rae, and we giggle as we watch him dance sans facial expression, and with as little movement as possible.

"The girls in the front are really into it," Rae says to me, and I have to agree. "Are we judging," she asks me, "I feel like we're being judge-y."

"When are we not being judge-y?" I respond, laughing, and she joins in.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stands straight up, and I know something is wrong; my natural instincts, part of my abilities, are telling me to get the hell out of there. I slowly scan around me, trying to figure out what's triggering my instincts so violently. That's when I spot someone dressed casually, but clearly not a participant in the fundraiser, and definitely not a college kid having a good time. I start to notice more like him, and then the uniforms walk in, calmly, like they've got nothing going on, but my heart starts beating triple-time.

"Hey, Rae, I'm gonna throw this away, I'll be right back," I say to her with the empty Ziploc in hand as I turn toward the first man I noticed. She just nods, still watching the dance, and not noticing my agitation. As I walk toward the trash can 5 feet from the guy, he pulls something from his back pocket, and it looks like a folded piece of paper. I throw the Ziploc bag away and watch subtly as he goes to put it back in his pocket, but he doesn't notice when it falls to the ground while he walks away.

I calmly walk to the paper and pick it up. It's folded but I can tell there's writing on it, so I turn my back to the mass of people and unfold it.

I freeze when I see of picture of a girl with brown hair and blue eyes looking back at me. Below the image are some facts: Name: Myka Ann Reynolds, Height: 5'6", Hair Color: Brown, Eye Color: Blue, Gender: Female, Mutation: Unknown (Reported Shapeshifting), Classified: Extremely Dangerous.

I feel Rae walk up behind me, come looking for me when I took too long to throw a bag away, and I don't fold the paper fast enough.

"Myka, why does that paper have a picture of you on it?" she questions. And I just open and close my mouth like a fish, unable to come up with anything, my mind busy with other things.

To be looking for me here is strange, I'm not a participant so I'm not on any roster, nor in any social media group – I haven't even posted anything about visiting. The most logical place to look for me would be my dorm room. But since my building is literally right next door to the arena, they probably figured this was the next best place. Suddenly I'm relieved my other two roommates went back home this weekend, and Mia was already here; they probably would have known which room I occupy our apartment style housing, but I didn't know how, or if, they would explain their presence to take me away.

"Myka? Hello? You still here? You don't look so good." Rae says while I'm still frozen. "Maybe we really should get back so you can sleep." But suddenly I'm not so sure I can go back. I'm not even sure I'll be able to get out of the building, and I don't want to get Rae hurt in any crossfire.

It turns out I don't get the opportunity to come up with a plan anyway. The music that filled the gym stops abruptly, and everyone mutters in confusion when a man in a suit, complete with a flak jacket, gets up on the stage, microphone in hand – nearby I hear someone mutter that it's not time for a miracle story yet. And, oh, do I wish that's what this is.

"Hello everyone, and good morning" the man says, his voice is deep, it matches his height and adds to his intimidation ability I'm sure. The problem is that my panic has kicked my abilities into high gear, and I can tell, even from 60 feet away that he's nervous. Probably because he's trying to apprehend an "Extremely Dangerous" mutant in a court full of citizens.

He continues and I'm stuck listening to his words, unwillingly to try to leave and draw attention to myself.

"My name is Captain Stewart, and I'm leading a team here today to take someone into custody, to take a mutant into custody," and he stops when people start muttering, and Rae just looks at me funny, rolling her eyes, like she can't believe this is happening.

I must make a somewhat convincing smile, even though I'm panicking hardcore internally. She must be distracted though, because she can always tell when I'm faking a smile.

The captain continues, "Yes, really, a mutant here among you. We have it on good authority that she," my chest constricts, "has some sort of animal mutation," I can't breathe, "and has enhanced senses as well." I'm starting to hyperventilate and I drop Mia's Gatorade bottle - people notice and are giving me funny looks.

Then someone else walks up to the captain on stage. I calm myself down a bit, and strain to hear what they're saying. I shift my inner ear into a variety of animals' anatomy, but nothing can make out what's being said as they whisper their conversation, not over the sound of my still panicked heartbeat. It doesn't last very long, and the captain turns back to his audience with a small device in his hand.

"We're going to use that against her," and then he presses a button. Unfortunately, I don't have time to shift my hearing back to human from canine, and the device is a high-pitch tone generator, made for training dogs, but clearly modified to be worse, if I'm going by the splitting pain in my skull. I wasn't expecting it, and I drop to my knees, head in my hands screaming. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I realize no one else can hear it, and everyone around me is backing away quickly. Rae looks conflicted about it, simultaneously worried for me and about me. But I don't blame her, my position must be reminiscent of the Daniel video – and everyone has seen that.

The tone stops, and I look up, panting from the residual pain. Those who can see me face gasp, and I realize I've partially shifted my face: my eyes are bright gold like that of a tiger, and my canine teeth have extended to fangs. What they haven't noticed yet are my fingernails, extended and sharpened like claws.

All of my inner instincts, the instincts of every animal in the animal kingdom, are shouting at me that I'm in danger, being attacked, and that I have to protect myself and Rae, because my animal sides long ago accepted her as pack. But my human brain is insisting she's not in danger, she's a normal human so they won't hurt her, and fighting won't help me now. I manage to control my nails and teeth, but the eyes are a lost cause; they are the window to the soul after all.

It doesn't help that I'm angry. My gaze falls on the captain standing on stage, and his smug look dissipates, even as his men surround me, weapons drawn. I stand slowly, tiger eyes still locked on his, and his dark skin goes pale. I'm livid. He fleshed me out on the first try and my animal side is threatening to take over.

I'm tempted to let it.


	3. Lots of Adrenaline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's an escape attempt.

"Myka? What's going on?" I hear Rae ask quietly, and I can hear the desperation in her voice; she wants me to tell her it's all a joke and this isn't really happening.

It's the best thing she could've done for me. My animal sides accepted her as pack, and protecting pack is more important than the rage I'm feeling. All the fear I had when I realized what's happening has burned away as I discovered that all the men and women sent here to detain me are downright terrified. They pose no real threat to me; they don't know anything about what I can do, and bullets won't hurt me. My concern now is protecting the others.

I shake my head and look to her with normal eyes. "I'm sorry." I don't know what I'm sorry for yet: not telling her, accidentally putting her in this situation, for scaring her, or for what I'm about to do next - run away.

I knew it as soon as the paralyzing fear left me: I have to leave and hide for the rest of my life. They know who I am now, and that's dangerous for those I care for. I can only hope they'll be okay once I leave.

I turn away from Rae, with her eyes bugging out and her mouth hanging open, and look to the captain, still on stage, and still with the device in his hand.

He sees me look at it, and presses the button again, but this time I'm prepared and it doesn't affect me. I laugh quietly, dangerously, but the arena is so quiet everyone hears it. I can smell it when the fear in the room skyrockets.

"Get out! Everyone out!" I shout, and the ensuing chaos is deafening and confusing. The officers surrounding me get pushed and shoved as students rush past, breaking their ranks. I take advantage of the opportunity to disappear into the crowd.

It's short lived. Everyone is running to the front atrium of the arena, with the big open floor and huge windows. I want a back exit, to quietly slip outside and run. Attempting to go against the flow of students takes precious time, and I know it was the wrong choice.

Most of the students are gone to the front when they spot me again, and the captain lets off an air horn, ordering everyone to their knees.

Of course I don't comply, but maybe I should have. One of the uniforms gets me in the back with a Taser. Bullets can't injure me, but they will hurt, and apparently so will this. I'm dropped to my knees again before I can rip the prongs out, and the small wounds heal instantly. I'm left panting from the ordeal and more students are gone until there's just a handful. But I see one blonde haired, blue eyed boy still on hands and knees not going anywhere, not even attempting to leave. He's still facing the exit so I assume he's just frozen in fear.

I catch his eye and mouth run, I even flash my fangs to try to get him to go, but he just smirks and shakes his head 'no.' Then he looks down at his hands and I follow his gaze where I see some kind of red…energy sparking around his fists. And I know what he is: a mutant, like me. Time slows for a second as I wonder if we're both being targeted. But he's not dressed like a participant, just jeans and a t-shirt like a visitor. Which means his being here is purely coincidental and he can still get away.

He catches my eye again and smiles, this time telling me to run. Shit, I think, he's gonna try to be a hero. So I emphatically shake my head no, but he's not looking at me anymore.

"Hey, assholes, watch this!" he yells as he stands up, catching all their attention as I'm letting them believe I'm down for good.

He plants his feet, and begins to rotate his upper body, almost like he's trying to hula hoop, and a red energy starts appearing as he holds his arms taut away from himself. People start running to the exit again.

But an officer near him Tasers him as well, and his energy dissipates with a concussive blow, knocking everyone to their knees, again.

I look back over to see him sprawled on the ground. Great, I think, blondie can't even keep control. And he's gone and knocked himself out! Clearly this boy would be classified "Extremely Dangerous" if he could keep control.

The officers sent to take me are now circled around him, with the captain walking toward his prone form. It's my chance to escape, but he tried to help me, and being a mutant automatically makes him an honorary member of the pack apparently, because I feel protective of him. The decision is easy.

I stand up and leap toward the circle, transforming into a large Bengal tiger mid-jump. After hitting the floor once, I bound over their heads, over top of the boy, and I roar at them, my tiger-self informing them they'll have to go through me.

They shoot at me, more out of instinctual terror than as a real choice, and I crouch down to completely cover the boy. When they stop because I haven't gone down yet, they're horrified to watch as my body expels the bullets and heals instantly. The little plinks as the bullets hit the floor echo throughout the now empty gym.

I growl at them again before shifting into my half-and-half form: tail, fangs, eyes of a tiger, claws, ears like a cat at the top of my head, and, while I'm still in my jeans and Keds, instead of being covered by my shirt, my torso is covered in the fur of a tiger.

I thrust my right hand out and tap into one of the abilities that are a by-product of my main mutation. Due to the sixth sense I have from all the animal forms, I can see and read the auras of living organisms. Recently, I've discovered I can influence people's emotion through their auras. I sort of "grab" all of their auras in my hand, paralyzing them, and suddenly the ghostly colors around them are visible to all of us, flowing from each of them into a ball clutched in my fist.

Below me, I hear the boy stifle a groan as he wakes up, and he freezes when he sees what I'm doing. I ignore him for the moment.

I can feel the fear in their auras and I can see the murky hues of purple and black that appear when people are afraid. I take those parts and I soak their auras in it, effectively making them disproportionately afraid – the kind of afraid that causes people to become paralyzed and stop functioning until it goes away.

When I release them, they all drop, and some start crying; Captain Stewart is straight-up bawling, curled up on the floor.

I turn my attention to the boy, and help him sit up.

"We have to go." I say as I pull his left arm over my shoulder and help him stand. I may be strong enough to take his weight, but he's still got about eight or nine inches on me, and that makes going forward awkward.

"I'm Alex, by the way," he says quietly as we make our way toward the atrium.

"I'm Myka. We have to get out of here and hide. You shouldn't have revealed yourself." I admonish.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome," is all he mutters in reply, still disoriented and weak from being knocked-out.

I ignore the jab, we have bigger problems. I didn't realize how big until we actually reach the atrium and I see no one has actually been allowed to leave the building. Alex and I share a quick look, because outside the windows we can see flashing blue and red lights, and someone on a bull-horn is insisting no one leaves until they identify the mutant. Me. And I guess now Alex as well.

It looks like the whole police force is outside, and S.W.A.T appears to be joining. This isn't good.

Alex is getting weaker, too. I can feel him putting more and more weight onto me. It wouldn't be a problem if we weren't attempting to run for our lives at the moment, but we are so big problem.

"Alex," I hiss, "we need a plan." But he's nearly out again, and I can't do more than drag him into the atrium.

The other students give us away, though I suppose inadvertently. They back away in surprise and fear, cluing the officials in to our identities. They shout for us – me, really, since I'm hauling Alex along – to stop and we won't be harmed, but it's not them I'm afraid of, it's the people we'll be taken to by them.

I don't stop moving toward the doors. I feel Alex take another hit from a Taser, if the spasms are anything to judge by, so I take a second to rip the barbs out of his side. It only takes a second, and I do it because I need him functional sooner rather than later, and an additional hit probably won't help anything. That second is all it takes for someone else to shoot me with one, but I'm running entirely on instinct and fear so I barely feel it.

I make it through the doors, and I'm met with a depressing sight. The plaza, roughly the size of five basketball courts placed side by side, that the arena opens onto is nearly empty, but the streets on each side are brimming with law enforcement, all called by panicked students, freaking out about mutants. There's so much shouting, but then students are pouring out of the arena on either side of me.

I move forward again, until I reach the astro-turf that covers the center of the plaza, when I get hit with another Taser. I make it a few more feet, until my legs give out.

But it's not from pain, or fear, or the Taser. It's because everything in me is calling for a transformation into something, anything, other than human that's capable of handling the situation.

The problem is that the way an animal handles something is not going to make things better for me, or for mutants everywhere else.

I dropped because I'm fighting my instincts. I kick at Alex's prone form in order to get him farther away from me – I'm losing the fight and I don't want to accidentally hurt him.

I get a splitting pain in my skull and I cry out, but it sounds more like a dragon's roar. I'm not limited to existing creatures in my transformations, and apparently my subconscious has decided a dragon is most capable of killing the threats before me – it's not wrong.

When I roared, everyone went quiet. The astro-turf is surrounded, but Alex and I are the only ones actually on the circle. Law enforcement is on the outer edge, spread out, but the students are behind them, watching, some in awe, some in fear, and some, I notice with relief, in outrage clearly directed at the ones with guns.

I lock eyes with a girl I've never seen before, and I know I'm going to lose the will to resist soon, so I call out to her.

"Get away! Go, now! GO! I can't control it with this much pain and – " I don't get to finish before I drop my head to the ground again, curling my finger-claws into the fake grass trying to get a grip.

Then I get hit with another freaking Taser, and I snap.

I leap to my feet and roar like they haven't heard yet, resulting in more than a few gasps from the crowd. With my head thrown back and my arms extended, they can see every bit of the beginning of my transformation: my skin turns a deep blue, then the scales appear. My limbs change proportions, my hands and feet turn to talons, and by the time my wings begin to grow I'm already 15 feet tall and growing. It's clear to everyone what I'm becoming, but they're stuck in place, their whole attention caught on my change.

My dragon-self is thinking murderous thought, and I'm in so much pain I can't differentiate between friend and foe as I swing my gaze around the circle.

I roar one more time into the sky, now 25 feet tall, and I release a bright flame before looking down.

I'm just about to begin my rampage, when I feel something touch my foot, and I hear my name.

I look down at Alex, to see him awake, weak, but trying to tell me something. It takes me a second to hear it because I have to concentrate, but it's worth it.

"- don't want to do this, Myka, I know you don't. Don't prove to them what they think they know, okay? Show them who you really are. Just Myka. Just someone with a unique gift. Please."

Maybe it's because I know he's just as powerful, and therefore dangerous, as I am, and has probably had the same fear I have, but whatever the reason, I manage to latch onto his words. I close my eyes and slowly shrink, while my skin goes back to normal.

When I'm almost back to normal height and it's just my tail left, I get hit with a bullet, and it hurts, but I keep myself calmed and finish my transformation using a trick I learned a long time ago – I sing.

"Oh say, can you see, this is the American Dream

Young girl, hustlin'

On the other side of the ocean

You can be anything at all

In America, America

I say, can't see

Just close your eyes and breathe

Breathe out, breathe in

American oxygen

Every breath I breathe"

I only get through the first verse and part of the chorus before I'm slammed into the ground, and my hands are shackled behind my back. I see Alex getting the same treatment, and our eyes lock in mutual despair. We can win this, but we shouldn't; it won't help anyone in the long run – we'd win the battle, but not the war it seems to be becoming. What kind of war is it when one side doesn't want anything but peace?


	4. The Start of Pack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being loaded into a van is never a good thing.

From our positions on the ground, Alex and I watch as a van pulls up onto the plaza, separating students as it comes. Most of the guards are now working to control the crowd, all eager to see what's in the van. I'll admit I'm curious as well, but for different reasons.

Alex and I are unceremoniously lifted from the ground – neither of us has any interest in helping our captors. We share a fast smirk before a kind of metal muzzle is strapped on our heads. I can understand one for me – I turn into animals after all – but for Alex it makes no sense, though if they're unsure what it is he does, perhaps it's just a precaution.

We're being walked over to the van when they finally open the back panel doors – and a boy comes tumbling out, obviously having been waiting for the opportunity. It's likely no one else can hear it, but I can, and he does a very loud, probably sonic, scream and his muzzle goes flying off, not built to withstand such an assault.

He's still shackled though, and as the guards go to lift him from the ground, he starts writhing in place. Then he locks eyes with the gaping students around him and starts shouting.

"HELP US! PLEASE, DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING! WE NEED HELP." I'm uncertain if he's using his ability behind the words, but they are exceptionally loud. At his utterance of "us" everyone, including myself, looks into the van and sees it's full of people. People who are also young, shackled and muzzled, with one other similarity that strikes everyone: they all wear the same expression of terror.

The students around us are shaken out of their stupor from watching two mutants being captured, and I hear some of the things being said,  
"This can't be right" "But they're mutants" "Look at how scared they are" "This is wrong" "They can't do this" "Did you see what she could do" "But they stopped before they hurt anyone" "They were defending themselves" "They have rights too."

But the sentiment that starts to fill the crowd is "this is wrong" and I nearly break down into tears in relief – I had worried they would accept our abduction.

When the muttering turns to shouting, riling the undecided as well, the guards look around nervously. College campuses can be dangerous places when a group decides to start protesting – what would be the outcome if the thing being protested occurs right in front of them?

For some reason, they seem to blame the boy for this, and one guard starts beating him rather than attempting to get him into the van. Another decides to join in, and another.

When the boy starts screaming in pain, I struggle against the guard holding me still. He had stopped walking when the students' shouting started, and I can smell his nervousness. When I begin to struggle, he regains his senses and begins moving toward the van again, but I'm trying to reach the boy, unsure how to help, but insistent all the same.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alex attempting the same, and my respect for him increases. Our capture is inevitable, and fighting will only make it worse. Not everyone would risk that for someone they don't even know.

When my guard pulls against me, I surprise him by backing into him, and his grip loosens, allowing me to pull away. He just grazes my arm as I run toward the boy, barreling myself into the group of officers and guards surrounding him. I immediately trip over him, but my instincts kick-in, and I manage to hop over and land in a crouch on his other side; the students around us cheer, but I'm focused on the officials surrounding the boy. I may not be able to shift with the muzzle on, but a cat-like hiss while wearing it results in an eerie noise.

Even if I can't accomplish much like this, I've managed to break through the mob-like mentality that continued the brutality against the boy, and the officers are realizing the damage they've done when they see all the cell phones out and held up. I see them notice, and I smirk.

They must have noticed the smirk, because, next thing I know, I'm being hit upside the head and tossed over someone's shoulder.

That's when the crowd turns violent. They begin pushing and shoving, trying to accomplish what, I don't know. I don't think they did either, just encouraged by the voice in their head telling them something morally wrong is happening in front of them.

One thing you can count on college kids to be is vocal and active about their opinions.

My head heals from the hit, just when I'm thrown, hard, onto the floor of the back of the panel van. As the doors close, I catch a glimpse of all the cell phones that are clearly recording the event, and I think "good." That's when we're encompassed in darkness next to people we've never met but have something very important in common with: we're all mutants.

The windows in the van are blacked out from the inside as well as out, so it's hard to see, but it seems to take a while to work through the mass of students. The slow-going is also noticeable by the length of time we're able to hear the yelling through the van walls. When we drop off the curb onto the street, the boy yells out in pain. I hear a couple of whimpers from elsewhere in the van, and I can't tell if they're afraid of what's coming, or made nervous by the darkness.

The darkness doesn't bother me, I shift my eyes to canine and I can see well-enough. With my enhanced vision, I can see a bench on each side of the van, with kids filling the available space. I look up to see a boy, probably about my age, right next to my spot, flat on my back on the floor, and he's looking conflicted. Finally, he takes a deep breath and releases it, effectively getting everyone's attention.

I watch as he lifts his right hand and aims it toward the top corner of the van. Then a light beam shoots from his palm and I have to shut my eyes it's so bright.

"Gah!" is all I can manage with the muzzle holding my jaw in place. I open my eyes, human this time, to find the light is similar to the sunlight on a cloudy day.

With no idea where we're going, or how long it will take to get there, I decide I don't want to spend the indeterminate amount of time sitting with my hands behind my back, connected to the metal around my ankles. And I'd like to be able to communicate.

I sigh deeply, just like the boy, and it gets everyone's attention. They look to me, all except the injured boy who is still writhing in pain, waiting to see what I'll do. I decide to turn to the side so they can see. I close my eyes and focus, shifting just my arms into the front legs of a wolf. It shrinks my wrists and hands until the cuffs fall right off with a plunk as they hit the floor of the van. As soon as they're free, I shift them back to human and remove the muzzle. The others gasp, then nod in approval, and from Alex I could swear I see a spark of pride in his aura from the acceptance of my ability. Why he would be proud I don't know.

"If you can get yourself out quietly, I suggest you do so. We'll help if you can't in just a moment. I'll help you in a sec, Alex." I say quietly, and to my surprise everyone nods. Some close their eyes to concentrate, while others wait patiently.

I turn to the boy with the light beam coming from his palm.

"Can you get it off?" I ask, receiving a head shake from him.

I pull the muzzle off, receiving a thanks, then grow a claw on my index finger to pick the lock of his cuffs. I could break them open, but I'm trying not to jostle the hand giving us light.

"Give a girl a warning next time, yeah?" I say, smiling and gesturing toward his hand.

"It's not even that bright!" he protests while I turn to free Alex. This time I just break the cuffs.

"Yeah, well, it is if you've shifted to canine eyes and are adjusted to the dark."

He just huffs and shakes his head chuckling.

I've never been in a situation where discussing abilities feels like everyday conversation. It's different, but it feels normal, it feels right.

I curl up to break the cuffs around my ankles off, then do the same for Alex, and since I'm sitting, I help the boy with his ankle cuffs. There's no sense keeping them on. I could tell when I looked around at the dejected faces that no one is going to fight our captors. Not yet, anyway.

The boy who was beaten moans again. I scoot over to him, and lay him flat on his back.

"Just lie still, and we'll help you as best we can." I say, reaching into his aura to lessen his pain and soothe him, putting him to sleep so he feels less pain.

"I can heal him," I hear, and I turn to see a girl with various tattoos. One on her face covers the right side of her face, curling over her eyebrow and onto her cheekbone. It's a gorgeous vine-like design.

"Is that your ability?" I ask.

She lift her right hand and holds it out to me, palm up, where I see another tattoo, this time a spiral sun design. Something I recognize from studying Native American art as the symbol for healing.

"I have different abilities based on the birthmark I activate," she says.

I register that they're birthmarks, not tattoos, then barely have time to wonder what she means by "activate" when suddenly the spiral sun starts to spin.

She turns her palm down and lays it gently on the shoulder of the boy. I tune into his aura again, and watch as the broken parts heal. When it's done, the girl just sits back and looks at me. Her expression is defensive, like she's waiting for me judge her.

I offer her my hand, "My name is Myka Reynolds," is all I say.

She eyes me for a moment before deciding to take my hand, "I'm Erica. Erica Gitter," she says. I nod to her and look back down at the boy who is now waking up. He sits up and looks at me.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Erica healed you," I respond, gesturing toward the girl.

He turns to her, "Well. Thank you." he says nodding to her. She just nods back, accepting his thanks, but he isn't done yet.

"I'm Sean Cassidy. And I am now forever indebted to you," he says cheekily, and her cheeks turn pink. I'm not prepared when he turns to me, "and you! That was quite the flip you managed back there." he finished, referring to my quick recovery earlier.

He hold his hand out to me, "I'm Myka, and it wasn't quite a flip – more like a quick recovery rather than going down hard." I tell him smiling.

"In any case, thank you." Then he turns toward Alex, who is watching, just like everyone else in the van, "And I saw you struggling to do the same. Thanks for trying, man, not many would."

Alex just nods, "We've gotta stick together. I'm Alex Summers, nice to meet you Sean."

"Yeah, just wish it was under different circumstances."

I turn to the boy still maintaining the light beam.

"What's your name?"

"Conner Worthington, the third." he answers, saying the last part like it's habit and he hates it. So I decide to ignore it for the moment.

"Good to meet you," I say, "how long can you hold that?" I ask, meaning the light.

He shrugs, "Since I'm just sitting here, I'll last for a while. It probably won't be necessary when the sun comes up."

I agree with his assessment, so I turn to the others in the van, everyone now free of the shackles and muzzles. A quick count reveals there are 10 of us in all.

"So," I begin, "what's everyone else's names? And if you feel comfortable, what's your ability?"

When I'm met with blank stares, I peek into everyone's auras to find they're all uncomfortable sharing this information. Even Alex, and we just survived an assault together. I can understand their reticence though. They've probably spent years hiding what they can do. It's why Conner took a deep breath to settle himself before shedding some light for us. I decide to start.

"Okay, I'll explain my ability. I'm Myka, as I've said, and I shapeshift. Fun fact, I'm not limited to existing critters in my transformations. I can also become dinosaurs and mythical creatures. I have enhanced healing, and I can see the aura's of living beings." I say in a rush, because I'm nervous about it, too.

There's only a beat of silence before Alex, thankfully, picks up.

"I'm Alex, and I create a ring of red energy. I don't know anything more about it, it's enough of a struggle to control it."

I think it's his admittance that control is tough, but the others feel more comfortable after that.

"Sean. I have a sonic scream, and enhanced hearing."

"Erica, a few abilities associated with my birthmarks." At our stares she sighs and elaborates, "Well, you saw healing. There's also telepathy, flight, super-human strength, and radioactive touch." Sean whistles in awe when she finishes, making her blush again.

"I'm Conner, same as earlier," he jokes, "and I can produce light beams from my hands. Also at a much higher, and dangerous, level than this."

"It reminds me of the sun," I hear myself say, though I hadn't meant to.

He just chuckles, "Yeah, I spend a lot of time in the sky." he says while turning to give us a view of the pure white, feathered wings on his back. His shirt has holes in the shoulder, allowing them freedom.

"When I fly, the wing-span grows to about 13 and a half feet wide." he explains.

It makes sense. From what I can see, the current wingspan would be about 4 feet across, not nearly enough to lift the probably six foot plus tall and obviously built boy providing us with light.

"That's so cool!" exclaims a girl sitting beside Erica. She has brown hair and eyes, and she's currently smiling across the space of the van toward Conner. He just looks flustered, obviously not used to such a response. None of us are, when it comes to our mutations.

I begin to wonder what about this boy makes us so comfortable around him, to just blurt out our thoughts. Then my attention goes back to the girl as she realizes she's made herself next in the introductions.

She clears her throat, "Right. I'm Kenna Jones. I have a super-human amount of strength, agility, coordination, and balance. I've done gymnastics all my life, so it wasn't until I was 12 that I discovered I was a mutant." She finishes.

"How did you find out?" I ask.

"When I was twelve, I was walking home from gymnastics practice, by myself because I insisted I was big enough, and it was only a couple of blocks from home. Anyway, some guy jumped out of the alley and tried to take me. I fought back. He had like three feet on me, and a couple hundred pounds, but I put him in the hospital. Everyone chalked it up to adrenaline and dismissed it, but I knew. I started testing myself in the gym, and doing more drastic stuff in gymnastics. I could do all of it. I've been really into parkour the last couple years. Especially since I quit gymnastics."

"Why did you quit?" asks the blonde girl next to her.

Kenna faces her, "I had an unfair advantage. Besides, every time I competed I got more worried someone would find out what I was."

The girl nods, but doesn't say anything more.

"What's your name?" I ask, trying to get the ball rolling again.

"Oh," she says, "I'm Bonnie Drake, and this is my twin sister, Blair." The redhead next to her nods in greeting, with a small smile.

Bonnie continues, "I create ice, and can manipulate it."

Blair picks up, "I create fire, and can manipulate."

Bonnie continues again, "We can also just create hot or cold temperatures. We've also found that my ice can't hurt her, and her fire can't burn me. Almost like our shared DNA won't let us."

I laugh, "That's gotta be good when you fight. I can't imagine what fights with my sister would have looked like if she had an ability, too." I say, but the laughter fizzles out at thoughts of my sister, and my family.

Alex must sense my distress because he speaks up almost immediately - while still glancing at me - addressing the boy sitting beside Conner.

"What about you?"

"Uh, hi," he starts nervously, "I'm Diego. Diego Ramirez. And I, uh, I can jump, like a, uh, like a frog. And I have a tongue like a frog. And I spit some kind of chemical that burns through whatever it lands on." He finishes quietly.

"Right on!" I shout, startling everyone. I hold out my closed fist to a surprised Diego, "Welcome to the Animal Kingdom, my friend." I say with a smile and a laugh.

He smiles back and fist bumps me, laughing. From just a peek at his aura, I can see he's usually outgoing, but he's ashamed of his mutation.

"'Right on'?" Alex asks me, amusement on his face.

"What?" I ask defensively, "It's not every day you meet someone with an animal mutation. It fit!"

Everyone shakes their head and chuckles.

Diego turns to the last boy, "What's your name?"

The boy has large brown eyes that match his dark skin. Which is why we couldn't be more surprised when he spoke with a slight Russian accent, "I'm Piotr Rasputin. I turn into an invincible metal." And then he demonstrates by turning completely into some kind of silver metal. Diego raps his knuckles against Piotr's bicep, and the resulting sound is like hitting something completely solid that you just know is super strong.

Piotr just laughs and turns back into his flesh form.

Suddenly we're all asking each other questions, telling stories about our abilities. And it's liberating, even if we are stuck in the back of a van, being taken who knows where, because this is a new opportunity for us. Being able to talk, safely, to someone who gets it, gets the struggles, gets the emotions, is something we haven't had before. Suddenly we're not different, or freaks, we're normal.

We manage to put aside the fact that we're in the back of a van. We laugh and talk and get to know one another.

At some point, Alex catches my eye, and we stare for a moment before nodding and going back to the conversation.

Somehow we've communicated, without words, that we're both very aware of our situation. We'll have to discuss it with the others before we reach the end of our journey.

I also know he hasn't missed the fact that I've positioned myself right by the back doors, ready to defend these kids if necessary. They're like me, and that makes them pack. The ambiguous animal side of me, the one with all the instincts, the one always ready to become whatever animal necessary, growls in readiness at my thoughts. And it growls in approval of the blonde haired, blue eyed, fearless boy with the vague ability who is quickly being accepted as second in the pack.


	5. Negotiation Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myka uses one of her abilities.

Conner was right, after the sun rose, we no longer needed his light beam. Conversation had dropped off after the first couple of hours; after the gravity of the situation started to make its presence known again, we all got quiet.

We were stuck in the back of the van for roughly four and a half or five hours, going fast, probably on a highway, if my senses were working properly.

We were all starting to get desperate for water, food was a lesser concern, though I could feel my stomach starting to realize it was probably time for breakfast. Looking around at the other kids, I could see they were feeling the same.

I know that I consume large quantities of food and water because of my mutation, and I started to wonder about the others.

Alex likely needed it, he generated some form of energy from himself, it probably made his metabolism insane. Blair, the fire manipulator, almost definitely needed water, I could see her lips already drying out, though Bonnie would probably be fine for a bit longer.

My guess is Kenna and Erica are okay, their mutations don't seem like those that would affect their food and water intake. Sean was in the same boat.

Conner was a wild card. I wasn't sure how his avian mutation would affect him.

Piotr was clearly fine. It wasn't likely metal would need sustenance; he could probably just transform and be fine for a while.

Diego was definitely having a problem. Knowing what I did about amphibians, which he seemed most like, he was going to need water very soon.

Either way, there's no way the drivers of the van could hold out much longer either. Surely the vehicle would need gas eventually? I'd have to convince them somehow to at least get us water.

I also realized that would mean they would see we weren't bound any longer. Hopefully they wouldn't try to re-do our bindings.

I also knew now was as good a time as any to discuss not fighting back with the others. We really couldn't afford to go on the run forever, and now we had to represent the mutant community. If this meant by keeping ourselves prisoner, we'd have to do it. The only way to be free of this permanently is to get public opinion on our side, and we had to hope the debacle at the university and the videos, sure to go viral, would swing in our favor.

I tried to catch Alex's eye. He understood why we had to hold back, even though I knew it pained him as much as it did me. He was resting his head against the panel of the van, having moved to the back panel doors with me. The others were leaning against each other, trying to nap and keep their minds off their dry throats, more than likely.

Finally, Alex realized I was looking at him, and he opened his eyes fully. I let my claws out and looked down to make sure he noticed, then back up and shook my head, while retracting my claws. It was enough for him to get the message, and he nodded his head with a nearly palpable defeat.

He started to lean his head back again, but I poked his side. This time he turned a bit to face me more fully and gave me a funny look, arching an eyebrow in question. I slanted my eyes at the others in the van, then watched as he recognized my intent. He nodded, and I knew he would back me.

I cleared my throat, and tried hard to ignore the discomfort there. I waited until I had everyone's attention, Blair needing to be poked awake by her sister.

"So, we've been travelling for a while, and the sun's been up for a while. It's entirely possible the drivers of the van will be needing to stop soon, for gas, for a bathroom break, maybe even just to switch drivers. I don't know if they're going to check on us or not. They probably still expect us to be shackled."

I can see in their faces that they're waiting for a plan to come spilling out. I do have one, it's just not likely to be what they're expecting.

"When we come to a stop, I'm going to make sure they check on us by hitting the wall of the van. When they open the doors," I stop to take a breath, "I want you all to do nothing."

No one says anything, but I detect a bit of shock. What shocks me, is that it's mixed with a fair amount of relief. I decide to continue.

"I'm going to try to convince whoever opens the door to let us use the restroom. I'm fairly certain I'll succeed. Use the facilities, then drink as much from the tap as you can. I don't know how much farther we have to go. I'm also going to request that we have some water, some snacks maybe if I think I can push it, but just in case, hydrate yourselves to the best of your ability." I stop to gauge their reactions.

"How can you be so sure you'll be able to convince them?" Diego asks. I can see from his eyes that he's asking with a mix of desperation and hope. He's not trying to undermine me, he's trying to get reassurance. He really needs water, he seems to be more dehydrated than the rest of us – even more than Blair, though she's also looking hopeful.

I decide right there that I won't let myself fail.

"It's a part of my mutation. It's virtually non-detectable by humans. Even more so than telepathy, I would imagine, since I'm not going into their minds."

"Then how will you do it? Has it worked before?" Bonnie wants to know, sparing a worried glance at her sister still slouched against her.

"I'm going to influence their auras a bit. It has nothing to do with their mind, it's more basic than that. And yes, I've done it before in a desperate moment."

Luckily, none of them ask for more details, but I can tell Alex is intrigued.

"So don't fight back, got it?" I ask, clarifying everyone is on the same page.

"And why not?" Sean asks, his anger clear, though it's directed at our captors. "These douchebags nearly killed me! They've taken us by force without telling why, or where we're going, and we're supposed to be docile?"

I level a hard look at him. If I'm going to keep them alive, I need them to follow me. I reach down deep into the Alpha animal and bring it forward, putting power into my response.

"Yes. That is exactly what you're supposed to be." I tell him, maintaining eye-contact, until he looks away first. Then I lean forward and touch his shoulder, providing comfort through touch. Whether he realizes it or not, he leans into it, accepting comfort from someone his subconscious and hindbrain recognizes as powerful, strong, and capable of keeping him safe.

"It's going to be hard, I won't lie to you, but I'm going to make sure we all make it through this. Just remember there has to be a light at the end." I say, squeezing his shoulder, and getting a small smile in return.

My animal growls in approval that we have won the first test, and established ourselves as Alpha of this small pack.

"We need to make sure we don't fuel rumors that we're savage beings, not capable of intelligent thought. Escaping, going on the run, that would only scare the entire population, and make them persecute mutants even more." I say.

Alex jumps in, taking over the explanation.

"A lot of people recorded the entire encounter outside the arena, I have no doubt it's already gone viral. You heard the protests. They understood something wrong was happening, and we can help ourselves by following instructions and giving them no reason to harm us."

"You know," Erica starts, "we may not have seen anything from in here, but we definitely heard something scary roar. It sent chills down my spine, and for a moment I was glad to be stuck in here. If everything was recorded, they definitely got that too." she finishes. She has a good point.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Piotr asks, looking at me.

I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment, cringing while I answer, "Yeah," I draw out, "I may have lost my cool for a second. My animal instincts kind of took control after being Tased for the fourth time, and decided a dragon would be able to handle the threats." I finish lamely, understanding it didn't help us any.

"What the videos caught, was a girl being attacked and responding to the threat, before controlling herself. You didn't hurt anyone, Myka." Alex says, looking to me.

"Only because you stopped me." I tell him, hanging my head in shame; I've never lost control like that before, and the ramifications are just now hitting me.

My immediate family knows I can shapeshift, but they think it's only to small or medium animals. They don't know about anything else, or how powerful I am. Or, I guess they didn't know. Now, everyone and their mother probably knows.

My extended family didn't know. My friends didn't know. People I went to school with for thirteen years didn't know. Not the people I worked on the yearbook with, not my ex-boyfriends, not the sports teams I was the photographer for at school. Not my co-workers at the restaurant I work at, no one in my hometown, or at the university. And their first exposure to it, is a video of me being Tased and then turning into a giant reptile.

There's no way they'll ever want to face me again, and I can't blame them. I lied to them so many times, for so many years. I don't even know their stances on mutants, I've been too chicken to ask. And now I've probably skewed any kindness they had.

"Well then the video shows that at least one of us has some sense, and you were able to maintain yours, you just needed some reminding." He tells me, interrupting my inner despair.

I just nod, collecting the despair and anger at myself, and shoving it deep down and away. I have bigger problems than my past life that's been irreparably shattered.

"Right, well, we can hope," I say, giving some form of smile, though he doesn't call me out on the fakeness of it.

Suddenly, the van starts to slow, and we can feel the unmistakable momentum of a turn onto an interstate exit. Maybe just a stop, maybe our destination, but either way, things are about to get interesting.

[]

We're all sitting quietly, and I can hear the others breathing shallowly – except Alex, he hasn't reacted in any way other than to turn and sit facing the back doors. His heartbeat is the same, and his breathing pattern hasn't changed. When he notices my scrutiny, he just smirks and goes back to studying the floorboards, carefully preparing to look non-threatening when the doors open.

When the van finally comes to a complete stop, I can hear discussion from the cab, then the slamming of the passenger door as it's closed. Before whoever it is can get too far away, I reach forward and hit the back doors twice with open palms – loud enough to get attention, but dull enough to keep panic to a minimum.

Though everyone but Alex flinches, despite knowing the plan.

At first I think they're going to ignore me, but then I hear the driver also get out of the vehicle, and footsteps approaching cautiously from both directions.

I'm suddenly struck by the oddness of two men being entrusted with the transport of ten mutants, but my question is solved when I hear another van pull-up, and men get out while conversing with our drivers.

"What are you going to them for?" asks a man.

"Well, we heard something hit the van. Thought we should check it out?" a second man, evidently someone from our van, says – though it comes out more as a question, and I can hear his heartrate pick up. Apparently the first man is of a higher rank. Good to know.

"Have you considered it's a ploy? What if they escaped on your watch?" demands the first man.

I hear another set of footsteps approach, lighter than the others.

"Gentlemen, they're ten teenagers, mutant or not, what could they really do?" asks a female voice. For a moment, I feel my lips curl in a parody of a smile, if only she really knew. But she won't find out, not today, anyway.

"Ma'am, with all due respect," begins the first man, "did you see what the one girl turned into? She became a dragon. A dragon, ma'am." He sounds calm, but I can sense the resurgence of panic at the mere memory of me. Good.

"Ma'am," the second one starts, "with all due respect to you and sir, she didn't hurt anyone. She gave up. I have a daughter her age, and I know the look of defeat teenagers get. Our information says she's an Honors student at her university. I've been looking through her file. The boy we picked up with her, too. They're smart, they're not gonna fight back. Ma'am." he finishes, clearly nervous to contradict the other man, and fears being perceived as dictating to her. So both are of higher rank, yet he still stands up for us. Well, kinda. But I'll take what I can get.

Alex nudges me, clearly wondering what's happening. That's when I remember he can't hear like I can, but one look at Sean tells me he's on the same page as me. I get a nod from him, he understands we can't fight, not when this man is putting his job on the line.

"So you think we should open the doors and investigate?" asks the woman.

"Ma'am, I could not think of a worse idea!" spouts the first man.

"I wasn't speaking to you." she responds coolly – this woman must be the commander of this convoy then.

She must nod to our advocate because he continues, "We've been driving for five hours" – so I was right – "and I know my kids don't last five hours on a road trip, with food and water available. I think we need to at least check on them. Ma'am."

She seems to ponder this. I don't know which way she'll sway, though she clearly doesn't like the first man. I decide it's time for some self-advocacy.

"Ma'am?" I call, just loud enough to be heard through the doors, and everyone outside goes still. When I don't get a response, I continue.

"My name is Myka Reynolds. I'm the shapeshifting mutant you picked up five hours ago." I decide not to use the word "kidnapped." I still don't get a response, but no one is moving either, no attempts at whispering, nothing. If I couldn't hear their heartbeats, some erratic, I would think they'd disappeared.

"I'd like to apologize to your colleague for frightening him earlier during my control slip. I am sorry, sir, truly."

The first man splutters indignantly, causing those around to chuckle, and I can hear that I've amused the woman. I let out a relieved breath – that had been a longshot, meant to test the waters.

A glance from Alex tells me he also knows how risky it was, but there's no second-guessing from him, just encouragement.

Finally I get a response from her.

"Aren't you supposed to be bound and gagged?" she asks.

"Yeah, about that," I start, and I can hear an amused huff from the second man, clearly used to teenagers, "we removed those about, oh, five hours ago, if that's truly how long we've been travelling."

It's risky to let them know I could hear them, but I decide to let them in, just a bit, on my abilities. Hopefully it will impress upon them how docile we're being on purpose.

"Removed all of them? Shackles and all?" she asks a bit incredulously.

"Yup," I confirm, "oh, and, um, well, some of them are broken from when I pulled them apart. Sorry."

She laughs again. The first man's anger is rising.

"Relax, Martin, it's just metal." She says.

"And apparently something she's stronger than. Ma'am." The "ma'am" distinctly less-respectful this time. She goes silent again.

"Ma'am?" I call again.

"Yes, Miss Reynolds?"

"We actually need to use the restroom. And, we could use some water. A couple more than others, due to our mutations. They aren't looking so good." And I'm not lying. Diego is getting worse by the moment, and Blair is quickly catching up, barely able to keep her head up.

When I'm met with silence, I decide to explain.

"Look, I'm gonna lay something out for you, okay, ma'am?" I start, "Blair is a fire-user, she runs hot normally, and she consumes more water than the average person; she's very dehydrated. Diego has amphibian qualities – as in typically aquatic creatures. I can actually see his skin drying out. Alex generates energy from his own stores. His metabolism is fast and requires near constant input." A surprised glance from him tells me my earlier deduction was right. "And as for me, well, you saw what I did. You can't even imagine the energy toll that took. And, I haven't had any water since breathing fire. That considerably dried out my throat, as I'm sure you can deduce."

I don't let her respond, though I hear her take in a breath like she's about to speak.

"I'd think whoever you're taking us too, would like us to make it there alive."


	6. Brief Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack gets a moment to stretch their legs.

The first man, the one who hasn't been advocating for us, flat out laughs.

"And just what makes you think they care?" he sneers, tone dripping with threat.

I suppress a growl.

"Dead men tell no tales." I say seriously, "Dead mutants only reveal so many secrets. No, I expect they are looking forward to experiments where we actually react."

He doesn't have a response to that. Some of the other agents seem to become discomforted at the thought, and the man with teenage children definitely becomes distressed.

The woman must sense the unease growing within her troops, because she tries to respond to me – while really trying to reassure them.

"Relax, we're simply taking you to a holding facility. It's for your safety, and the safety of the general public." She says, and I can't tell if she actually believes it or not.

I sigh, loudly enough that I know everyone outside the van hears.

"Whatever you say, ma'am. Just follow your orders." She sucks in a breath, letting me know I've hit a nerve, implying she's either being played or is being intentionally obtuse. This is a woman used to being in charge.

"The fact remains, we won't fight you. Not here, not at the facility. We're smarter than that. We'll survive wherever we end up – it's what we do. But right now, we need your help. We need water, at the very least. Just let us use the restrooms, and we can hydrate there. We're getting desperate." And at the end, I let a little of the very real desperation leak into my voice.

There are people with children out there. They're starting to feel bad, we haven't done anything overtly mutant-y in the last few hours, so they're able to think of us as real people. What they don't know is I'm currently influencing their auras. I'm taking the flashes of red and blue meaning caring for another in need, and I'm increasing its presence. Over half the assigned guards are feeling it, including the woman, so our chances are good of getting what we need.

I'm lucky so many actually have compassion and can feel it for us; I can't create emotions or impulses, I can only increase or decrease what a person would naturally feel. It's an important limitation to my ability.

Grumbling begins throughout the group, and small debates are starting between those I've manipulated – something I may or may not feel bad about later – and those I haven't.

Maybe it's the loss of control starting, or maybe it's her manipulated aura, but the woman comes to a decision.

"My name is Commander Turner, do I have your word that you'll behave?"

"Yes, ma'am." Is all I say.

"Then you'll be allowed to use the restrooms, and I'll send a couple men to get water for you."

Everyone inside the van sighs thankfully.

"Thank you" I respond, the relief clear. I let her hear it because it gives her a sense that she has control, like I wasn't as confident as I had sounded. And if I was partially bluffing – well, I got what we needed, and not a moment too soon, judging from the looks of Diego and Blair.

I motion for everyone to remain still when we hear them move to unlock the doors. When they swing open, there are some weapons out, though they're pointed at the ground still.

But I only notice that after flinching along with everyone else at the sudden bright light.

My eyes adjust first, and I slowly slide out of the van. Standing is interesting, after being cooped up so long, my stance is wobbly, and I take a moment to steady myself. Then I turn and look into the van. Everyone is nervous – they've noticed the drawn weapons.

I look at Alex, then nod toward Diego; I don't think he'll be able to get himself out. Alex and I may have been in the van for 5 hours, but the others were already there, and I realize I have no idea how long they've been stuck in there.

Alex gets the message. He gets into a crouched standing position and moves toward Diego. He must be aware enough to understand the intent, because he doesn't take any prompting to put his arm across Alex's shoulders. Piotr helps by hopping out of the van, and assisting Alex into getting Diego to the ground. He isn't able to stand, so as Conner and Sean make their way out of the van, Piotr and Alex continue to support Diego.

After I saw Piotr help Alex out, I turned my attention to Blair. It becomes clear I'm not the only one who has noticed some of our group's decline. Erica slides out of the van onto the concrete next to me – and nearly goes down. I manage to throw my arm out, and catch her around her middle. She nods to me, and uses my arm to balance herself.

The she turns and we help Bonnie and Kenna get Blair out. Once on the ground, Kenna gets her footing back easily – probably as part of her mutation. She turns toward the woman watching us carefully, and looks at everyone gathered without fear.

"Well, shall we?" she says, gesturing toward the gas station. I glance over, and I can see curious faces in the windows.

Erica gestures to take over from Bonnie, and she gratefully nods, letting Erica slide into place under Blair's other arm while I keep her balanced. Bonnie's dehydration is starting to show; I guess I was slightly wrong about her need for water. It becomes painfully obvious that an ice-manipulator would need water, maybe as much as a fire user.

Kenna seems to come to the same conclusion because she puts her arm around Bonnie's shoulders, letting the blonde put some weight onto her.

I look at Commander Turner and nod my thanks. The expression on her face is conflicted, but I can't tell what about.

"Ma'am," starts a man standing next to her, and his voice identifies him as our advocate, "we should get moving."

This seems to shake her from her thoughts. "Right, of course. You two," she says, gesturing to a couple of men, "lead the way."

So they start walking, and we make our way, slowly, into some blessed air conditioning and quickly locate the restrooms, ignoring the interested looks from the workers and clientele.

Alex and I share a glance when we reach the doors, telling each other without words to be careful and look after the others.

[]

Once inside, I'm glad to see the bathrooms are well-kept. Erica and I help Blair to the sinks, while Kenna does the same for Bonnie. Once they're both guzzling water, Kenna and Erica use the two stalls, while I make sure the two girls remain standing on their own, leaning down to the faucet.

Kenna and I switch, and when I exit the stall, I see Bonnie and Blair – who is looking much better – taking turns at the sink, while Kenna uses the other.

Eventually, everyone has used the facilities, and I've gulped down enough water to help the dry burn in the back of my throat.

The water seems to have magically revived the Drake twins, and Erica and Kenna are looking more awake. I hope the boys have fared as well.

We take a moment to breathe and stretch our legs when we're not feeling so sluggish. The only downside to quenching the thirst, is now our hunger has awakened full-force. But I can deal with this.

Abruptly, our quiet moment is broken by a fist banging against the door, "Time's up!"

I take a deep breath to steady myself, then lead the way out the door.

When I leave the hallway and enter the open area of the store, I thankfully see through the windows a couple of men loading two 24 packs of bottled water into the van.

Kenna spots the boys first, standing near the entrance, surrounded by guards, still with weapons drawn.

They look more revived, and I'm glad we were allowed this moment. As we walk over, I notice Diego's whole torso is damp with water. I arch an eyebrow at Alex in amusement, but his words sober me.

"He passed out as soon as we got through the door, and his skin was cracking it was so dry. I had to keep cupping water and soaking him with it just to wake him up." He explains.

The two cashiers, a boy and girl probably in their teens, hear this and the boy makes a strange noise. The girl disappears into the back, but before I can figure out what she's doing, my attention is drawn back to Diego.

"I've never gone that long without water before."

"You were in the van the longest. Nine and a half hours is longer than anyone should go without water. I'm sorry we didn't think of it before. We were so focused on who we had to get next, we didn't consider who we already had." The speaker is our advocate, walking over with another man right behind him. I can tell by some faces that the others don't condone them talking to us.

"My name is Joe, and this is my partner Dan. We've been driving the van for the past 10 hours." So our advocate's name is Joe; it's nice to put a name to the voice. Then his partner speaks.

"We were overly-worried about any and all of you fighting back. But you're just teenagers."

"Well," I start, "between you and me," and I smile because clearly everyone in the station is listening in, "we are quite capable of getting away. Maybe not without a couple of injuries, but we could do it." I stop and eye them for a moment.

"But we know what's at stake here. Not just our lives, and we'd be on the run for the remainder of them, but the lives of every other mutant everywhere. Our behavior will either serve as proof for the anti-mutant argument, or the pro-mutant. Even if it means enduring experiments, we'll do our best to represent our race in the best way possible."

Dan speaks again, while Joe just looks distressed.

"You're being taken to a holding facility, like the commander said, not for experimentation."

"You don't really believe that, do you? I know I don't. The loudest arguments by far have been for us to be experimented on. Humanity has never been kind to those who are different." I say while shaking my head.

"Maybe not initially, but it gets better." Joe says, and it almost sounds like he's trying to convince himself.

"Only if it becomes stated that we have all the rights of citizens – even though I am a citizen, with a passport and social security number." I say, while maintaining eye contact with only Joe, but upping the concern in some of the other's auras.

"But that's just it, you are citizens, you have rights."

"Then they're being violated. I'm being detained and I've done nothing to warrant it except exist. You haven't formally arrested me, you haven't charged me with anything except being a mutant, and that hasn't been officially declared a crime. You haven't told me where we're going, I haven't been Mirandized. Literally everything about this situation is violating my rights as a citizen."

He doesn't have an answer for that. Commander Turner's anxiety after my little spiel has sky-rocketed, and I know the conversation is done.

"No more dillydallying, we've got more ground to cover." She says in what must be her no-nonsense voice.

But it doesn't matter. There is a woman in here with her phone out, obviously recording everything, and my only goal was to make sure she got my spiel on record.

One of the anti-mutant men takes the commander's words as an order and roughly shoves me toward the door. I manage to discreetly catch the woman's eye, and nod my head in acknowledgment. Her eyes go wide with surprise, but then she nods back determinedly.

Hopefully, her video will help make a difference to our case.

[]

The second we get outside, every instinct tells me to run, that my opportunities for escape are running out. I can see the others fighting it as well. Alex in particular keeps fisting his hands over and over again. I bump my shoulder into his and when he glances at me, I just smile and skip for a couple of paces. The sudden movement makes a couple of our guards nervous, but my pack chuckles, and I get an amused eye-roll accompanied by a small smile from Alex, so it's worth it.

When we're within ten feet of the van, I hear the door to the gas station open, and someone shout "wait!"

I instinctually turn to look, and the others don't take any prompting to follow suit. What we see lifts the spirits of us mutants, but I know that it may be for nothing.

The female employee – the one who went into the back room – is jogging toward us with a box in her arms, and in the box I can see food. There are bags of chips and pretzels, but also some quickly bagged donuts and hotdogs. I can't see it, but I can smell chocolate somewhere in the box as well. I don't know if the food is meant to be for the guards or us, but either way, the chances of us getting it are slim.

The girl finally reaches us, and Commander Turner steps in her way. The girl, her nametag says Maria, is slightly out of breath, and she's a little intimidated, but I also see determination in her stance. She doesn't hesitate long under Turner's glare before calmly and confidently explaining herself.

I guess all the guards are intrigued by this turn of events, because no one is forcing us into the van.

"I called the local owner of this station. I told him that, well, I wasn't totally sure what was happening, but that I thought those mutants that had been abduct – um, I mean, taken into custody were in the shop, and hadn't had anything to eat or drink in a while. I told him a couple of them didn't look so good when they came in, and were only marginally better now. I told him about the one who passed out from lack of water." At this, her eyes glance over quickly to Diego and back. Her heart rate picked up as she spoke, but she is determined.

"He told me to box up some food and send it with them. So, here I am, with a box of food, for the people you're taking who knows where and treating like – " but she stops herself after she realizes her anger is starting to take over. She casts a quick glance toward us, and she catches me smiling, probably the others as well. It boosts her confidence because she looks back to Turner with renewed force.

"So I'll just be handing it to them now." And she actually steps around Turner to walk toward us. Turner hasn't spoken yet, and I can't decide if it's because she doesn't care, or she wants us to have the food, or because she's so flabbergasted someone would speak to her that way.

Maybe all the guards are surprised as well, because she makes her way to us with no problem.

She hands the box to me, and I take it easily.

"Thank you, Maria, we really appreciate this."

"It's the kind thing to do." She tells me as I turn to place in the box into the van. I slide it all the way to the back – it will hopefully make it more ridiculous if one of the guards decides to be petty and climb in to take the food from us.

"I do have a question, though." she starts as Turner decides to ignore us for the time being and instead focus on the remainder of the travel plans. I catch Sean's eye and motion for him to pay attention, and he nods.

"I recognize you from the video of you being taken from your school last night," Maria continues, "and clearly you're capable of some crazy awesome things. Why aren't you fighting back?"

I shake my head slowly, "Sometimes fighting back isn't the answer."

She looks confused, but Diego decides to step in.

"If we fight back, sure we'll be free of them for while, but we'll be setting back the acceptance of mutants into society. We can't do that to our brethren. So we'll sacrifice ourselves to experiments for the time being." He explains.

"Experiments!" Maria exclaims, looking horrified.

"It's most likely," Conner tells her, climbing into the van, "but if you think that's terrible, and I sincerely hope you do, then you're our only defense for now. Start the discussion. Advocate for us. Society won't accept our words – not yet."

I am over the moon happy that the mutants collected so far are smart teenagers. I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't understood the need to not fight.

The fact is, a war is not in our best interest. We're still the minority. A war would be a fight against time, and though non-mutants can't get rid of us permanently – since we're the next step in evolution and it will happen whether they want it or not – they outnumber us. It would be years of fighting before any resolution, and likely one that would be temporary. I'd rather have peace in my lifetime.

"But, I've never done anything like that before." Maria admits, and there's a bit of fear in her aura.

"Hey," I begin quietly, "the woman in the store, she took a video of our conversation in there. Maybe talk with her about getting started?" I advise. Maria nods without responding, clearly thinking hard.

"Alright, time to go. Mutants, back in the car!" Turner says suddenly.

We all nod to Maria before climbing back into the van, and I notice Sean looks preoccupied; I hope he heard something worthwhile. Once we're all seated, Turner walks up.

"I suppose it would be fruitless to attempt re-binding you?" She asks, and the resignation in her voice tells me she already knows the answer.

"Yes, ma'am." I say cheekily.

She walks away without comment, and Maria shouts a "good luck!" as a couple of guards motion for her to return the store.

Joe and Dan walk forward to close the doors, and both of them shoot us sympathetic looks. This time I don't return the small smile.

The doors swing closed and everything is suddenly much dimmer again.

[]

Though the stop was successful, and nothing bad happened, the mood drops drastically once we can feel that we're on the interstate again.

"Sean, what did you overhear?" I ask quickly. It draws the other's attentions.

"Nothing good," he starts glumly.

When he doesn't continue, I motion for him to go on.

He takes a deep breath, "They're taking us to some research facility in Virginia. And there are a few more trucks like this one bringing other mutants. I don't how many more, they didn't say.

But I also heard a couple of other guards talking, and one of them said he had a friend higher up in the command chain. While we were in the bathrooms, he made a call, and confirmed that we're headed toward experiments." He finishes.

I nod my head and take stock of the now definitely depressed mood.

"We knew this was a big possibility guys. I promise, I'm going to do whatever I can to limit attention to you."

They look at me with a mix of surprise and hope; surprised I would care so much, and hope that I can follow through.

I'm hoping the same.

"No matter what happens, we need to be strong. Conner, could you distribute some food? And Kenna, could you get a water bottle out for everyone?"

For a little while, we eat and drink. Then everyone starts to doze off.

I take the opportunity to lean my head against the back doors and relax. I don't sleep, I can't when my pack isn't safe, but I can re-charge a bit.

Alex and I are the only ones sitting on the floor of the van. Sean found a seat between Conner and Diego. Eventually, everyone falls asleep on the benches, mutually using one another as pillows. Alex has been fighting sleep, but I can sense him losing the battle. He's doing the head-jerk motion of people who have slipped under for a few seconds, but the head falling sensation jars them back awake.

If I can't sleep, I need him to – for now, he's second in the pack, though none of them realize I'm thinking of them as such. So I start paying attention to when he slips under, and before he can jerk back awake, I slowly and gently pull him over so his head is in my lap, and it only takes his subconscious a minute to adjust to a comfortable position. This time he stays asleep, and I go back to leaning my head back with my eyes closed, occasionally sipping some water.

[]

When I open my eyes next, we've stopped and the van shuts off. I guess we're at our destination, because we went over a graveled area rather than a real road.

I start waking the others up. If Alex is surprised to find himself lying down, he hides it well. Just helps me get the others ready for whatever comes next. Piotr is the last to come awake, with a muffled "wha-" before we hear the voices walking toward the van.


	7. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, good. There's more than one van.

"We retrieved the ten on our list, with few problems." Turner's voice says.

"What about the shapeshifter? She made it all over the news." asks a voice I've never heard before.

"She hasn't been a problem since. She declared herself spokesperson when we had to stop for gas, though."

"That is interesting. What did she ask for?"

"Food and water." Turner responds, and her aura tells me she's feeling conflicted about leaving us here.

"Do you think she will be valuable to us?" asks the voice. They're right outside the van doors now. I wonder why Turner didn't warn him that I could hear through the doors? Surely she hasn't forgotten.

"I think she will submit to the research. Myka understands that they shouldn't fight back."

"'Myka'? Have you gotten to know the subjects? That could be very dangerous. Even with them knowing we overpower them, they could still be hazardous."

Turner laughs. "That's just it though – they're choosing not to fight because it would harm their public image. I think they could very easily overpower us here."

Turner has some pride in her voice, and her aura. It doesn't surprise me, she seems like a woman who would respect strength and loyalty.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who hears it.

"It is a perilous thing to connect with monsters. That is why we have brought them here – to study them. We plan to learn what makes them tick, how to subdue them."

Suddenly Turner is even more unsure of this place.

"That sounds like an infringement of their rights."

"Oh, Commander. It would be absolutely pummeling the rights of a human. But these are mutants; as of now, they have no rights."

Turner doesn't like this anymore than we do.

"Open the doors." Commands the man, and we all flinch back from the sudden light.

"They aren't shackled?" asks the man, only slightly perturbed.

"They removed their bindings." Turner answers simply.

My eyes adjust to the sunlight which is facing right into the van. I hear the others mumble complaints, but I tune them out and exit of the van. I pay no attention to the man yet, simply take in my surroundings.

The first thing I notice are the two other vans. The next thing I notice is the copious amount of people wielding guns surrounding the vans. They are dressed in full riot gear, which must make them incredibly hot and grumpy since we're in the middle of some kind of forest area, and it is exceptionally warm outside. The humidity is also stifling, and I'm from Florida – I know humidity.

I hear the others climb out behind me. It's then that the armored men notice we're not bound, and it makes them very nervous. Commander Turner waves them away when they raise their weapons, but I take an extra step and decrease the anxiety in the surrounding men. I can't adjust them all at the same time, I haven't practiced enough, but I can slowly make headway through the group.

Turner tells us to line up in two rows of five. When we face the steps up to a massive building, the van is behind us. They must have backed-in to the area.

After I notice the building and the steps only five feet away from where we stand, I notice the other two vans aren't open yet, but they're about to be.

The van farthest away from us is surrounded by men. When the doors open, no one comes flying out, but there is muffled and angry shouting. Perhaps the shackling was more effective on them. What disheartens me is the way these new mutants behave; they're struggling, but ineffectively.

We need to time our rebellions perfectly, or we may not survive this place.

The one struggling the most is a dark-haired girl, and from my spot in line about fifteen feet away I hear her muffled growl. _Another animal mutation, maybe_ I think to myself.

Then my attention is grabbed by the next girl to exit. She's darker skinned, with long brown hair, but her hands are gloved and the guards are careful not to touch her. She's not fighting back, but if looks could kill, no one with a gun would be left standing.

I'm surprised when a boy, probably not much older than me, appears and he has blue skin. Then I notice a tail, and I'm sure this is the sole reason he has been _detained_ with the rest of us.

There are nine in all from the second van, and they continue to struggle after they're all out. I have to keep reducing the anxiety and stress the guards are feeling to keep them from pulling the trigger. They are afraid of us, and that is where the animosity toward us originates. We need to prove they have nothing to fear from us.

"Why are they still fighting?" Alex asks quietly, though I don't think he expects an answer.

"Some of them aren't. It's the couple that are who are making the guards nervous. I'm doing my best to calm them, but the others aren't helping our case." I practically growl back, frustrated with their naivety.

Finally, I'm done. We need to have a urgent discussion, but that will never happen if we don't make it inside alive.

I gather the Alpha from deep down again, and pour it into my words, focusing on the strugglers.

" _Enough."_ I command. A couple stop fighting and look to me. I do my best to communicate that they should trust me. When they see all of us unbound, they must decide to listen. The dark-haired girl who growled, however, shakes off my command.

"I can telepathically tell her to stop." Erica whispers from behind me.

I shake my head ever so slightly, "No, your birthmark will move, and we don't want them to know everything from the get-go." I whisper back.

I focus on the girl alone this time. I need her to listen to me, this time and in the future, and I know how the animal kingdom works. She needs to understand that I am Alpha, though I'm sure she's fairly dominant herself to shake me off so easily.

But I didn't unleash the full Alpha. This time I don't hold back.

" _ **Enough."**_ And this time my voice is only a little louder, though it does echo around the clearing. The girl stops immediately and turns to look at me, as does everyone else but I ignore them for the moment. I maintain eye contact, noticing the distinct eyes of wolves, and she breaks away first. In her aura, I see the wolf in her understand that I am in charge. Good.

I turn to look at Turner and I can't discern her feelings easily. They're swirling around too quickly for a real interpretation. She feels the pull to follow orders, but this place is giving her a bad vibe. And she finds herself feeling defensive of us.

She could be a great ally to us.

The man who was speaking to her earlier is in a white lab coat, and he motions for the last van, the one in the middle to be opened. There are three people in this one.

I'm angered at how young the first two seem – they're just children. First, a boy appears, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and he appears to be maybe 14. The mutant who follows him is a slim, Hispanic girl with thick black hair and eyes that probably usually shine with mirth rather than fear. But they both stand tall and strong, still shackled.

It's the third one who sends all of us mutants reeling. He's a young boy, maybe 7 years old, and he looks downright terrified, with tear tracks running down his face. The others are distressed, but they're still heeding my 'enough' order. I'm the one growling and on the verge of losing control.

There's one major consistency across every species in the animal kingdom: you don't mess with the cubs.

I manage to get myself under control after a glance tells me I'm not helping his fear. I look at Turner and she's feeling the same horror I am. When she meets my gaze, her eyes harden and her lips thin. She gives me a nearly imperceptible nod, her aura promising help and vengeance for the wrongs already done to us, and those about to be done to us.

Turner will be a great ally to us.

The man in the lab coat smiles and claps his hands delightedly, startling some of those around us.

He turns away from us and walks up a couple of the steps before turning to look us over again. Before he says anything, there's a whisper of a voice in my head saying, _"Oh, goodie, the evil man will now tell us his plan to destroy the world."_ Judging from the couple of giggles from the collected mutants, it was sent to all of us. It didn't sound like Erica's voice though.

" _Which one are you?"_ I think, as loudly as possible.

" _I'm the blond in the second row in the last group to your right."_ She says, and since nearly everyone glances over at her quickly, I guess she informed everyone.

I twitch my hand behind my back to get Erica's attention, then I think clearly and loudly, _"Erica."_

" _Yes?"_ she asks, her voice distinctive in my mind.

" _Find out the other girl's name, and what she can do. See if she knows what any of those in her group can do, and any information they may have overheard."_

" _Will do…"_ And then her voice fades away.

The other girl's voice makes another occurrence, _"I'm Emma. Erica and I will exchange information, and I'll make sure everyone knows to follow you. Everyone in your group trusts you implicitly already, and I'm willing to do anything to survive this."_

Oh, great, no pressure.

There's a quiet laugh that must belong to Emma, then it also fades away.

I glance back at Turner and she's watching me with a slightly rueful smirk on her face. Like she knows I'm planning something. I shrug my shoulders, as if to say _what else can I do_. She shakes her head slightly and looks to the ground. She's trying not to give away that she knows we're up to something.

Lab Coat Guy chooses that moment to start talking.

"I know some of you may be confused, maybe even a little scared. I would like you to know, that we only have the best of intentions here. We want to get to know you, learn about what you can do. It's all research, really." He smiles, but it lacks sincerity.

"So anyway, my name is Dr. Ratley, and I will be overseeing you during your time here. For all of our safety, we do have a security team, who will be here 24/7. This is our Head of Security, Chester Michaels." He informs us, gesturing toward a military-man whose whole being exudes distaste for our kind.

" _Well, this guy's thoughts are disgusting and lewd."_

" _Agreed."_ First Emma's and then Erica's voices sound in my head. Not being a telepath, I can't confirm what they've said, but I don't doubt it.

" _You do know they're planning some awful things for us, right? Ratty gets a sick pleasure from torture."_ Emma says to me.

" _I know."_ Is all I can say. Right now, the plan is simply to survive.

" _Hm. Why is it that everything in me wants to trust you? I don't even know you. Ah, well, I guess I'll trust my instincts."_ I don't respond to Emma's voice, though I do huff out a small laugh.

Unfortunately for me, this gets the attention of Head of Security Chester Michaels and he stalks toward me, attempting to be intimidating. Ratty notices and drops off mid-sentence.

"Is something funny?" Michaels grinds out, in what must be his most intimidating voice. But I can turn into a dragon, so I simply stare at him with a smirk on my face, despite his nearly two feet on me, and a couple hundred pounds.

Wrong move. In a second, he's wrapped one massive hand around my neck and lifted me off the ground. My feet dangle in the air as my breath gets cut off. All around us, the mutants burst into loud yelling and protest, Alex lunges toward us, as does Diego, but Piotr and Kenna and Erica grab them.

Muscles Michaels glances around at the angry mutants all around, but doesn't outwardly express the fear I can see in his aura. My vision is getting a little spotty, but I refuse to pass out.

"Still laughing, mutant-girl?" He asks.

I huff out as much of a laugh as I can muster, and this angers him. But Ratty calls out a "Drop her, Michaels, we need them alive." And I get dropped to the ground.

When my feet touch hard Earth again, I think I'll drop for a second, but I'm stubborn, and my legs hold me up. I stand back up from my semi-crouch with as much confident _swagger_ as I can muster, and after a couple of deep breaths, release a real laugh in his face.

The others around me can see the visible reaction he gets – face getting red and his hands clenching – but now we know we can mess with him, and they laugh with me.

Even Turner chuckles. Muscles Michaels whips around to glare at her, but suddenly Joe is there with Dan behind her.

"Man, you gotta be careful with teenagers," starts Joe, "one second you think you're in charge, and the next, they've made you feel about two feet tall."

"They're mutants – abominations," spits out Muscles Michaels, and at least now I know for sure his stance on our existence.

" _We're the abominations, and he's the one clearly over-doing the 'roids."_ Comes Emma's voice again, to the whole group, I think. There's an almost echo-like quality when it's directed to the group.

The group laughs, confirming my guess, but the little boy looks more confused than anything, just laughing because the big kids are.

Then Ratty is talking, directing his questions to Turner and Joe.

"Would you say you sympathize with the mutants?" He asks, and I don't have any way of warning them about the shadow-y blackness in his aura indicating ill-intent.

"Well, I have teenagers. I do my job, and I have done it today, though I can't say I fall into the anti-mutant argument." Says Joe, seriously pondering the question.

Turner is a little more hesitant to answer.

"I think," she starts slowly, "that I will be having a discussion with my superiors."

That's all Ratty needs to know.

Before I can say anything, Ratty nods to Michaels, who quickly pulls out his side-arm and with two quick _pops_ , both Joe and Turner are dead on the ground, with perfect circles on their foreheads.

Some of the mutants scream, but I barely hear it as all the air is expelled from my body in shock.

"Can't have mutant-sympathizers knowing that you're here. Do you feel the same?" Ratty says, then directs the question to Dan.

Dan is aware of the danger he's in, and he's doing a remarkable job hiding his grief for his partner; his aura is drowning in sorrow and rage.

"They're abominations." He says.

He doesn't look at me, smart on his part, but there's a determination working its way into his aura, and I know that although we just lost two great allies, we've gained a determined one.

I only hope he can work fast enough to get us out alive.

Suddenly, there's a high keening wail, and everyone looks to see the young boy screaming bloody murder with fresh tears on his cheeks. The vans, still behind the groups that were transported in them, start to shake violently, and there's no doubt in my mind that the boy is causing it.

I see the guards all become terrified, and there's no way I'm strong enough to manipulate all of their auras in the time I have before they start shooting. But I can get to the boy.

I run hard, trying to close the distance in precious seconds, and I just cradle the boy to me, hunched on the ground, when I feel the first bullet hit. I don't even hear the gunshots themselves, I'm so focused on keeping him safe.

I work through the pain, to reduce the pain and fear in the boy's aura, and it works, he calms down a bit. But it's all the strength I have, and I pass out while still being hit with a spray of bullets.

[]

When I come to, I'm inside the building, strapped to a metal bed. I'm comforted by the knowledge that I'm still dressed in my jeans and T-shirt, but I can't sense any of the others around, and it panics me a lot.

But I figure I'm being watched, so I remain outwardly calm.

Eventually, a couple of people come in – Ratty and some geeky lab assistant.

"Hello, Myka," Ratty says, taking a seat facing me. His assistant leans against the far wall.

I just glare.

He sighs deeply, like he expected more from me.

"That was impressive, surviving what you endured. I must admit, I thought I had lost a perfectly good test subject."

I growl at him.

He laughs.

"But I learned something about you, and it's that you will do anything to keep the others safe. I'd like to offer you a deal."

I don't growl this time, but I still don't answer. Apparently he doesn't require one, because he explains his offer.

"If you submit to all the testing we have lined up for you, we will leave the others be, for the time being. You'll all be kept together, so you know we're not lying to you. It will allow us to see how they react to stress and seeing your condition. But we won't physically remove them for experimentation."

I think what scares me most is how open he is about the fact that he'll be conducting experiments, not even remotely interested in trying to disguise it. But I look to the ceiling, contemplating the offer anyway. It would buy us time. I can heal, so I'll last a long time. But it's more than that. It's almost selfish why I consider it: if I'm dead or so out of it with pain, I can't feel guilty if the others suffer. That's the only torture I couldn't take.

I promised I'd keep them safe, and here I'm being offered exactly that, without my having said a word.

I look back to him, and his gleeful face. He knew I would do it.

"Deal."


	8. Experimentation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lab sucks.

I grit my teeth against the pain, reminding myself that it's almost done for the day.

Despite our deal, which allows Ratty to experiment on the others once I die, they're taking their sweet time about it. Apparently, I'm more fascinating than they originally thought I would be, so I'm an acceptable one to spend so much time on.

No one here feels any sympathy for us, which I imagine is by design. Either they are part of the security staff who all hate us with a burning passion, or they are one of the scientists who are too blinded by all the results or who get off on our pain.

When I feel the scalpel slice through the skin between my ribs, I accidentally let out a short scream before cutting it off myself. Most of the time I don't bother holding back – I either scream or sing, whatever is necessary. Even to my own ears, I sometimes sound possessed and hysterical. Today, however, one of the scientists who get off on my pain is in charge of the experiment, so I'm doing my best to give him as little satisfaction as possible.

It's been six weeks since we arrived here. The original deal was amended two weeks ago to include Alex, Piotr, and Conner. I was so angry when Alex told me he'd made the deal, but I couldn't think past the pain that particular day, so I guess his point was proven.

_They tossed me back into the holding room where all the others were being held. I had already been put in the solitary cell for "special treatment" and was returned in a helluva amount of pain._

_My injuries were still healing – it was taking longer every time as I grew weaker each day. Mason, the young boy who is seven years old, ran up to me like he always does, but I was struggling. I growled – not at him, though he at first thought so – in warning. I was losing control, and needed a moment to regain it; the scientists thought they had developed a serum to keep my abilities in check. It worked for about a minute, then wore off, but they didn't know that, they thought is worked for hours – and it took a lot of my dwindling strength to keep that charade going. What they don't understand is that our mutations are a part of us, and to not use them physically hurts. Or perhaps they don't care._

_Adelaide, the wolf-girl, had caught the warning growl and snagged Mason on his way by her. At first he struggled to get free, but calmed once he saw how I struggled to breathe. Alex came over, ever unafraid of me, and helped my sit with my head between my knees._

" _Myka, just breathe, in and out," he had told me. And I listened; I was stuck in the haze of agony and would do nearly anything to get out of it._

_Except agree to their plan. Which is probably why they didn't consult with me first._

" _Myka, you need to understand something." Alex had started._

" _And really listen," Conner had added, which is about when I realized they had gone and done something stupid._

_Alex picked up again, "We know about your deal with Ratty."_

_My head shot up to look at them, but a wave of dizziness forced me to drop it again._

" _What of it?" I managed to mumble out, barely able to hear myself._

" _We've amended it," Conner tells me._

_This time when my head pops up, the adrenalin pushes aside any dizziness, because no, they couldn't have, no way._

" _Three of us are going to be taken with you, they're going to experiment on the four of us, but leave the others alone. We're volunteering, Myka, you can't take all this pain for much longer – not alone." Alex tells me gravely._

_I know he's right. I've known it for the last few days._

" _Who?" I ask on a deep sigh. The tension in the room drops a bit; they were worried I'd fight it, but they were all determined to convince me._

_Conner answers, "Alex, Piotr, and myself."_

_I nod. "Fine. But no one else. None of the rest of you are allowed to volunteer. Clear?" I ask, eyeing them all sternly._

_Bonnie and Blair look like they want to fight me on it, as do Emma, Kenna, and Adelaide. Everyone else is in varying degrees of willing compliance, but I can tell no one will go against what I've said._

_I wouldn't let another girl join, and it's probably Emma who informed the others, reading it from my mind. I can see the fear in the other females, they want to help,_ _but_ _don't want to end up in the same position. I haven't said anything, but I think Alex and Emma have an agreement to keep an eye on me. Adelaide can probably smell it on me. One of the other girls here, Katherine-Anne who goes by Kitty, took one look at my face when I was returned the first time and blanched, leading me to believe she's experienced something_ _similar._ _I made a point of connecting with her after that, trying to keep her spirit up. She can phase through solid matter and disrupt electronics – we may need that later._

The scientist's chuckles draw me from my thoughts.

"Very nice," he mutters to himself, as the wound he inflicted heals, and he turns to some machine to do what I have no idea.

I quickly learn what the machine does when the shocks start. They claim it's some kind of therapy to control my mutation.

One of the main goals here, as far as I've been able to discern, is to find a way to suppress our abilities. It explains why they accepted the volunteers they got. Alex generates an external energy, Conner has a visible physical mutation, and Piotr transforms in a completely different way from myself. We make a nice range of abilities.

For most of us, the serum to suppress our abilities momentarily works because our mutations originate internally; the serum doesn't affect Conner's wings and the goal is to make us normal.

As I'm thinking all this, lost in a tsunami of pain, they wheel Conner in, though I barely notice.

I should've reacted sooner. I'm in so much pain when they roll him in, strapped stomach down on a metal table. I'm on my back, similarly strapped down with a material they _think_ I can't break. I start rolling my head side to side, trying to stay conscious when he's brought in. He starts shouting to me, trying to make sure I'm ok, but I can hardly pay attention to anything around me. Which is why I miss the sheer glee in the scientist's auras.

It's not until they take out the bone saw that I realize what their plan is – and Conner has no idea. He can't see very well behind him, if he had even tried since he is still focused on me.

I start screaming. Yelling at them to stop. The adrenalin in my system kick starts every muscle in my body, and I strain against my binds. But I'm still so weak.

Conner starts to panic, and his shouting turns from concern for me to desperation for my help. It kills me that I can't get off the table.

Then they start sawing into his right wing, right where it meets his shoulder, and _Dear Lord_ , I will never forget the sound of his screams.

I see red, and roar. I'm pretty sure the building shakes, and Conner gets a reprieve as the scientists – _butchers_ – freeze in terror. Ratty is there, and he orders I be removed from the room, before leaving himself.

I think he knows the others won't make it out of the room the same way they came in.

When I feel the table I'm strapped to start to move, I cackle madly and smell the fear in the room turn to terror.

It only fuels me.

They start on his wing again, and I lose it.

My muscles strain before I hear the satisfying rip of the material. I sit up and launch myself at the nearest – and only – security guard, taking out the biggest threat.

After that, I go even more berserk. There is so much blood on Conner, and the tears running unchecked down his face are heartbreaking. He has passed out, from pain or blood-loss, I don't know, but it only feeds the raging fire inside me.

I break bones, rip flesh, and disfigure – as wild animals are prone to do when in captivity. And it is so satisfying.

I make sure to leave them alive, though. They can tell the world whatever they damn well please about the savage mutant. I want no part in a world that can do such a thing to anyone.

Once I've calmed, and everyone in a lab coat is on the floor, I step through all the blood and make my way to Conner. I find some medical supplies on the shelf under the metal table and clean him up to the best of my ability.

I remove his bindings, but leave him on the table, choosing to keep him stable until I get him to Erica. He wakes up halfway there, and the pained whimper that leaves him breaks my heart again. I speed up, practically sprinting with the table down the hallway.

We run into a couple of the assistants when we are almost to the door, and I growl in warning.

It sounds savage, even to my ears.

They let us pass, cowering into the wall from fear.

When I burst into the room, everyone jumps. Alex and Piotr are already back, being helped by Erica from their biggest injuries, leaving only some bruising.

One look at all the blood on the table and on Conner, and Erica is by him in a flash.

"What happened?" she practically screams at me.

"His wing," is all I can get out of my throat, too much animal still so close to the surface, and the words are accompanied by growls I'm unable to contain. Erica glances at me in surprise, but gets to work. The stares from the others last longer – they have never seen me so out of control.

I despair, realizing they are about to see that I really am monstrous, that I'm not what they needed for a leader. But no one says anything, just gets to work helping each other keep calm. It was a skill we've got very good at, keeping other mutants calm.

Alex storms up to me, Adelaide, the twins, and Diego close behind.

"Whose is it?" he demands fiercely, but I haven't any idea what he's talking about.

He must see the confusion on my face, because he suddenly lifts my hands and that's the first time I notice that I am covered in blood.

"Whose blood is this?" Alex demands again, but this time he sounds less angry and more worried.

I still can't force words through my throat. I look down at myself and see that I am red from nearly head to toe, with it dripping from my hair and hitting the floor.

I also realize I'm shaking, right when the twins notice as well. I find I'm cold, probably from the drop in adrenalin, and Blair engulfs me in her arms, despite the blood, warming herself considerably, and warming me in the process.

It isn't the first time one of us four has returned with blood on us, and the twins have developed a system. Bonnie makes ice which Blair melts, and we use that water to clean ourselves. Though this time they take over for me.

Alex is still waiting for an answer to his question.

"Myka?" he inquires again, his expression imploring me for an answer.

"It's not hers," Adelaide answers for me, "it doesn't smell like her."

Alex nods at her, showing he got the message. He backs away a bit, to let Bonnie and Blair help me.

Adelaide starts pacing, growling low in her throat. Since she also has an animal mutation, and wolves have a highly developed sense of pack and hierarchy, she recognizes how I view our group. She also recognizes that, while she is dominant, and easily in the top five of our "pack," Alex is Second. He cemented his position while I was passed out from protecting Mason; she won't challenge him.

Suddenly, Erica steps away from the table, wiping her brow and leaving behind a smudge of blood.

"Done. There's still a scar, and I'm afraid there's not much I can do about that, but he'll be able to fly again."

I sigh in relief, and I find the ambiguous animal side of me retreats after hearing the injured member of the pack is safe.

"Myka," Diego starts, "what happened?"

We animal shifters have a knack for understanding when the inner animal is and isn't near the surface.

I suck in a deep breath before starting the story from when I snapped out of my daze.

"And then I broke the bindings. I went after them, maiming, but I didn't kill any of them. They also hadn't injected me with anything yet." I finish, telling them without saying it out loud that they still don't know the serum isn't effective.

The others nod. The scientists think they have found ways to control our abilities and suppress the mutant gene, but we're only letting them think so – no need to help them develop ways to really subdue us.

[]

We've been given a few thin blankets since we've been here, so we set to work creating somewhere not directly on the floor for Conner to recover. He passed out again while Erica was healing him, and he still hasn't woken up.

It's been roughly five hours, and no one has come by.

We've been sitting quietly, trying to brace ourselves for the shitstorm I've certainly brought our way by lashing out – violently.

It's the only time in my life that I've given in to the 'maim and kill' instincts most animal predators rely on to survive. I guess it makes sense that it would take such a survival situation for the beast to break through my control. And I've always known it was there, so its presence doesn't surprise me; it's cemented my understanding of myself. I'm a danger to others, I'm a monster.

I really shouldn't be leading anyone since my immediate default response to opposition is _kill_ like the beast I am. My plan is to get everyone out of here alive, and find someone else to take care of them.

Just then the door bursts open, and I know the reckoning has come.

And it's in the form of a shaking Ratty, whose face is tomato red and he's spluttering in anger. Muscles Michaels follows behind him, along with over half the security force.

"I've just gotten done being briefed on all the material damage you've done, and it's…just…" he seems at a loss for words, "and the people! You savage little beast, you nearly killed all of them!"

"I could have." I say, defiantly looking him in the eye.

Muscles Michaels runs forward, wrapping his hand in a vice grip around my neck _again_ , but it's something I've unfortunately gotten used to during our time here.

He's made me a special project of his.

"You think you're so special, huh? You think you're better than us? Stupid mutant," he sneers, while my feet dangle in the air, and I struggle not to pass out.

Ratty speaks again, "You'll have to be punished for this. Severely."

Muscles Michaels drops me, and I crumple to a heap on the floor, no longer caring to try and remain standing each time. Now, I just settle for a laugh, and ignore Michaels completely, instead choosing to look up at Ratty from my position on the floor, laughing in his face.

Muscles Michaels doesn't like this. With a yell, he kicks me in the face, knowing I'll just heal, but it's enough to get blood in my mouth. He doesn't understand that this just fuels the inner animal.

I continue to ignore him, which I've learned he hates. Instead, I glare at Ratty, laughing and smiling with blood trailing out of my mouth.

It unnerves him. I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth, right between his feet, and he stumbles back hastily.

"You'll regret that," he tells me, trying to cover his embarrassment. But there's really very little they can do to me anymore.

He starts when I burst out laughing, hysterically this time, and it's enough to unnerve even the other mutants in the room.

I'm past being unnerved. I'm done playing nice in this hellhole; they can do whatever they want, but I'm going to make them uncomfortable at every turn, and I'm going to pray that Dan is doing his damndest in the outside world to help us – to avenge Turner and Joe.

"Take her to the cell!" barks Ratty, and Muscles does so, with vigor in his step, hauling me along behind him, and all the while my crazy laughter bounces around the hallway like we're in some twisted insane asylum.

I only laugh harder and louder once I notice Muscles Michaels becoming panicky.

[]

Muscles Michaels doesn't stay long with me in my cell, which is abnormal. Usually, this is his favorite part of the day. After a long day of being experimented on, I'm brought here where he's given free rein to "break" me.

Today I just continued to laugh, so his "free rein" only lasted a couple of times. I guess his ego could only take so much.

After he leaves, I sit on the edge of the metal bed with my head hanging down and my hands gripping the edge turning my knuckles white. My laughter is gone along with my fight; there's no one watching to warrant continuing the charade. Instead, the tears make their appearance – just like always when I'm left alone in this room.

I hear a key turn in the door, so I stand while wiping away the tears.

A man I've never seen before walks into the room. His pulse is frantic and his breathing is erratic.

He smells like the outdoors. I haven't smelled much beyond antiseptic and blood since we've been here.

"Hello, you don't know me, but I'm here to help you." He says quickly, closing the door behind him.

I just stare. I can't tell if he's afraid of the people running this freak show, or afraid of being in a closed room with me.

"My name is Sandy, and you can trust me," he says rapidly.

Still, I just stare, though I do arch an eyebrow in disbelief. This is too weird.

A man, named Sandy of all things, claims he can be trusted, and my instincts are telling me it's true.

He mistakes my disbelief for confusion of his name.

"I know, I know," he chuckles, "it doesn't make sense, a guy with dark hair and brown eyes named Sandy? What can I tell you, my mother was an odd duck."

I splutter out some semblance of a laugh. I haven't sincerely laughed in too long.

"Anyway, come on, I'm getting you out of here." He says, reaching for my hand to pull me along. Brazen of him.

I pull back, "No."

He turns back to me in disbelief. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"Just me? What about the others?"

"We don't have time to get them."

"Then I'm not going anywhere."

His eyes bug out, and his mouth drops open. Running a hand through his curly hair he mutters something like _the chick is crazy_ but I don't comment.

"Well, why not? Come with me and help get the others out later!" He says, like it's reasonable.

Maybe it would be to anyone other than me.

"No," I shake my head, "I've made a deal with Ratty – Dr. Ratley – that I'll submit to any experiment as long as the others are left alone. They're safe until the experiments kill me."

Sandy recoils at my words.

"You're sacrificing yourself?" he whispers in astonishment.

"I'm trying to protect them. I can't take all the attention alone though. We recently amended the deal to add three of the others to hopefully distribute the amount of pain each of us faces." My hands clench when I remember that I'll have to make sure Conner is no longer a part of it.

I growled without realizing it, but Sandy doesn't flinch. I narrow my eyes at him.

"You're not afraid of me?" I question.

"No," he shakes his head vehemently, "not at all. I've seen the video of you being abducted at school. You're smart. And you've just told me you've made deals, and negotiated these deals, no way you're just a dangerous animal."

"But you do realize I am dangerous."

"Oh, yeah." He pauses, "Hey, why are you still here? Why not get out yourself?"

I sigh and sit suddenly back on the metal bed, rubbing my eyes.

"Fighting back will set back mutant acceptance by society. We can't do that to our brethren." I sigh again before muttering, "Joe understood."

Sandy has a visible reaction to the name.

"Did you just say _Joe_?"

My head snaps up to glare at him.

"Yes, Joe. He tried to help us. He and Turner both." I stand up and start pacing. "They tried to help us. And he shot them!" I shout, turning to punch the cement wall, leaving a crater. "Point-blank in the forehead, he shot them and I couldn't do anything to help them! I couldn't stop it!" I say, frustratedly heaving myself away from the wall with both hands to face Sandy again.

"And today! I didn't react fast enough! They hurt him! They – " I stop and pace again, growling. If nothing else, this visit from a weird stranger has rekindled my need to fight.

"What happened today?" Sandy asks in a small voice, and I can't figure out why he's still here, pushing his luck when I've already told him I won't go.

I decide that maybe if he makes it out again he'll tell others about us. I might as well tell him everything.

"There's a boy here. He has wings. These large gorgeous white wings. They grow _naturally_ from his back, right at his shoulder blades. They are a part of him, and today," I stop to grind my teeth together, trying to keep my anger in check.

"I was out of it from the shock treatments," I start, but Sandy interrupts me.

"Shock treatments?" he hisses in astonishment, "Can't those kill you?"

I laugh without humor.

"I can withstand more than the average human, thanks to my mutation. I'm being given shock treatments that would kill men three times my size. I was so out of it when they wheeled him in, strapped stomach down. I didn't notice until they had the bone saw out what they meant to do." Sandy's eyes are ready to jump out of his face, they're so impossible wide.

"They tried to saw his wings off, while he was fully conscious, no anesthesia, nothing. I will _never_ forget the sound of his screams." I pause, to catch my breath and Sandy doesn't interject anything this time.

"I lost it. I was strapped down, screaming for them to stop, trying to think through the haze of pain. But animals, they're better at just reacting when in pain, so I gave in. You say you've watched the video. It was like when I snapped after being Tased for the fourth time. Except this time, there were no innocents around to worry about. Full disclosure, I maimed them, but I stopped short of killing them. Now they have scars to remember this _experience_ just like the boy, just like the rest of us." I'm panting by the time I'm done, and I'm mortified to learn there are tears streaming down my face.

Sandy has unshed tears, too, and I wonder how such a sensitive person made it this far into the building undetected.

"Is – is he okay?" Sandy asks in a quivering voice.

"He should be fine. I got him back to the others where one of the girls can heal." I say absentmindedly, still trying to stop the tears of rage, pain, and sorrow.

"You're all being held together?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you here, alone?"

I laugh humorlessly again, but this time it comes out as more of a cackle.

I spread my arms out wide, motioning to the entirety of the cell.

"This is the cell I'm brought to every day after experiments, the room where the Head of Security Muscles Michaels, first name Chester, attempts to break me."

"Break you?" Sandy whispers, and he's struggling not to think it.

I step toward him until I'm only a couple of feet away.

"Yeah, break me. He fears me, and that makes him feel powerless and out of control around me. Tell me, how do you think a man with control issues attempts to regain dominance over a teenage girl? We don't sit and have a nice _chat_." I spit at him, even though it's not his fault.

Sandy unbalances me with his response.

"I'm so sorry." He says quietly, tears spilling onto his cheeks.

I haven't been shown compassion by a non-mutant since arriving here, and it nearly breaks me. The sadistic smile I'd been wearing slips and a sob escapes me before I take a fortifying breath and stand tall.

"You need to leave, Sandy, before they catch you. I'm not going with, I'm needed here."

He nods, "Okay."

"Hey, do me a favor though? Tell people what I've said, yeah? Help us out a bit?"

He actually laughs, which startles me.

"Dan thought you might say something like that. I'm wearing a hidden camera, and _you're_ going to tell the world." He smiles.

I'm floored. "Dan is alive?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Sandy looks confused. "Yeah. You thought he wasn't?"

"I didn't know for sure. I saw them kill Turner and Joe for hesitating to express hate for mutants, I didn't know if they believed Dan or not. I passed out after being shot multiple times and woke up in this building. I didn't actually see him leave." I breathe out a deep sigh of relief.

"Yeah, he's put together a movement. I'm part of it, we're trying to get word out and help you. It's taken some time to put together, but now we're ready to really take off." And he looks so proud of what they're accomplishing, I can't help but smile in return.

"How did you get involved?" I ask.

His smile drops.

"Dan came to me right after he left here. Joe, he is uh – Joe was my dad." He gets out, his voice breaking slightly.

"Oh," I breathe out, feeling like I've been punched in the gut, "I'm so sorry." I tell him, catching him in a hug. He returns the hug for a minute, but I know he's gotta go.

I push back, keeping my hands on his shoulders, despite the fact he's taller than me.

"You need to leave, Sandy, right now. Get the word out."

He nods and turns to leave.

"Sandy," I say just before he opens the door and he turns to look at me, "I think your dad would be really proud of you."

He nods sagely before saluting me, and closing the door again.

I sit back on the metal bed, hoping against all odds that we all survive this ordeal.


	9. The Marking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack has some highs and lows.

The next day is shower day. They allow us to shower three days a week, which I suppose is gracious of them.

I stop short when I realize I should not consider being allowed to clean myself three days in a week _gracious_. We have been stuck in here too long.

The upside is there are no experiments done on shower day – though the scientists are still here, perhaps going over past results, writing reports, or designing new experiments.

I strip out of the white t-shirt, the thin and loose blue pants, but leave the undergarments provided by the "research facility." They have a few sets they actually clean for us and rotate through each shower day. We all wear identical clothing.

Probably so we don't get sick and throw off their results.

My guess is they won't be able to clean all the blood out of this set though. Probably they'll just throw it away.

At least it's the only reminders I have of the event, aside from Conner's scar that already looks years old thanks to Erica. He woke up not long after I returned from the cell, and aside from a slightly haunted look in his eyes, he seems alright. As alright as any of us can be here.

They separate the boys and girls into two communal shower rooms. There is a bank of sinks and mirrors, and a row of shower stalls with some flimsy curtains for a semblance of privacy. There's a row of benches between the sinks and the showers. There's towels laid out. We'll place out clothes on them, and when we exit, there will be fresh ones laid out, just as it has been for six weeks. This may be my favorite room in this place – I'd like to thank whoever designed it to be decent.

Even though all the girls are in the room together, there is little talk, and no laughter. We are allowed 45 minutes in here, which is exceptional. But we want to enjoy the alone-time the showers provide us.

I step under the spray, still in the underwear and sports bra, letting the water run over me. I'm still sore from everything, and removing the sports bra is going to hurt because of my shoulders.

After I've let the warm water run for a moment, I reluctantly remove the rest and hold back the whimper of pain. The warm water helps it pass.

The grease-like quality of my brown hair starts to go away, and that's a relief. It's grown to my lower back while we've been here, and it just gets gross faster now.

Three showers a week is not enough.

As I stand under the spray, I think about Sandy's covert visit yesterday, and I find myself hoping we aren't here much longer. Though I know hope can be dangerous if there is no basis for it.

My optimism has me hoping we'll be rescued, but I don't think Muscles Michael's security force will let us go easily. I start considering the mutations available to us that could help.

We all know everyone's mutations now. There are 22 of us all together. There were ten of us in the van I arrived in, nine in another, and three in the other.

The van of three included Mason, the seven year old with brown hair and eyes, and adorable dimples. He's almost always sitting in someone else's lap, and he sleeps curled up next to me. He has some kind of telekinesis as best we can figure. We haven't been able to try stuff out, and he can only sometimes do it on purpose. He's unpredictable, which wouldn't be good in a fight – and he's only seven, so no.

There was also Sofia Mantega with him in that van. Her family is from Mexico, and she has thick black hair and chocolate brown eyes. She's a very pretty girl, only about 15 years old, but she has a fairly solid control of her ability – she can manipulate air. I'm sure there's a ton she could do with that, but we're too afraid of being watched to experiment.

Samuel Guthrie, Sammy, was with them as well. He's also 15, but he's an old soul. Quiet and thoughtful, though he's also shown some impulsive tendencies, backing up Sean whenever he gets on about fighting back again. All we really know about his mutation is that he can create a force-field around himself, and anything right next to him. He's played around some with expanding it, but all he manages to do is make it explode and hurt my ear drums.

I might instruct him to grab Mason and put his force field up if things go bad. Or if they get worse I suppose is the correct term.

Why they got all the youngest in one van, I don't know, but the third van had some characters for sure.

Of course Adelaide Hale was in that one, the wolf-girl. She's my age, as most of the others are. Her black hair makes me think her fur would be similar, the way it already reacts like wolf's fur in the light – when it isn't greasy after not enough washing, that is. She's told me she can sometimes manage a full transformation, but mostly she does a half-and-half kind of thing, and has the senses of a wolf. Her eyes are a naturally golden-brown, which is actually fairly close to the color her wolf eyes are. We understand fighting a more instinctive nature, and we've bonded over that.

Emma Frost, of course, was also in the van. Her telepathy, along with Erica's, has allowed us all to communicate without actually talking out loud. Her blond hair, blue eyes, and just generally model good looks would have made me label her a typical Blond in any other situation, but she's reminded me that I should never judge anyone on their looks. She's been a great ally, and she's good with the others – caring but firm. She once told me she can turn into a living diamond form that she thinks is resistant to other's telepathy, but we haven't tested it, nor has she transformed while we've been here; we're afraid it would draw too much attention.

She does somehow manage to rock the prison outfits, though.

Then of course, there's Kitty Pryde. Her mother is Indian, and her father Caucasian, and she's as gorgeous as Emma. Her skin is flawless and her brown eyes are exceptionally expressive. She can walk through solid matter, which everyone else found incredibly fascinating, and Sean made some joke about her not needing the door held open for her. She told him, no, she would just take his hand and pull him through with her – and that's how we learned she can take two others with her by holding their hands. Just two though, right now it doesn't work anywhere else on her skin, but she thinks she could exercise her ability and manage it someday.

One of the biggest characters, and now best friends with Sean, is Remy LaBeau. He's originally from New Orleans, and he sounds like it. He has the ability to charge objects with some form of explosive energy, and he's partial to his playing cards he somehow snuck in. At least it makes for entertainment, whether we're playing cards, or he's throwing them like ninja stars. He's proven to be just as nimble as Kenna, so we think he's got some agility. According to him, he also has a special charming personality. Everyone groaned like it was a line, and it was complete with a waggle of his eyebrows, but Emma, Erica, and I all think he might actually have some kind of hypnotic charm. They've seen it in his mind, but I watched his aura as he charmed Anna-Marie a bit.

Speaking of Anna-Marie Kenneth, she's certainly special. Her mixed race heritage gave her a jackpot of genes, not unlike Kitty, though a different mix. She insists on wearing gloves – which the researchers at first denied her. She convinced them after simply touching the hand of one man, and he passed out after shaking uncontrollably. Anna-Marie looked smug, but I could see the underlying pain. She can't touch or be touched without risking the other person's life. She told us she can absorb the person's memories and personalities, but she risks killing them if she holds on too long.

Definitely helpful during a fight, but it means she'd have to be close – very close. Without some kind of hand to hand training that would be very dangerous, even with her ability. And I'd worry what that would do to her psyche.

We're all very fragile when it comes to defending ourselves with our abilities. On one hand, we save ourselves, maybe others, but the guilt would come crashing back later, and we aren't sure we could handle it.

One of the quieter girls is Akemi Ishida. She can create portals for teleportation, and she can do short or long distance, though long only on the condition she has seen both places, or has a very detailed description of the next place. I don't know that she's practiced much, but there was a guilt about her that makes me wonder if something has ever gone wrong while she was playing around with it.

Then there's Kurt Wagner. He's very quiet, and mostly observes. Even though we accept him, it's obvious he hasn't always been accepted in society. He was apparently a run-away, and he spent too long in one place. It doesn't surprise me he would be noticed, his mutation results in some very obvious physical aspects. He has a prehensile tail, but that could be covered up, as I know since I've had to recover in public from a surprise tail more than once growing up. No, the biggest give away that something is different is his blue skin. He's survived because he can make himself invisible in the shadows, has exceptional night vision, can crawl walls, and has line of sight teleportation. I get the sense he has a very firm grasp on what he can do from lots of practice.

The scientists have left him alone, and I think they didn't want him in the deal because they fear all of us, but especially those who are clearly different. He intimidates them, even though I'm of the opinion he's one of the kindest here.

Another observer of the group is Sooraya Qadir. She told us we could call her Raya if we wanted. Apparently it's what her younger brother called her when he was little, and she finds comfort in hearing it from us. We haven't been able to see her ability in action, but apparently she can turn herself into a living sandstorm. She also told us her organs and skeletal structure are more durable than is normal. Her father is a doctor and she says he found out she was different when she fell as a child, and the fall definitely should've broken her arm. When he father, worried, ran some tests, he found the expressed "x gene" that had been rumored in the medical field for some time. It's become more prevalent in our generation, and he's been a "safe doctor" for mutants since long before we were outed. I don't think any authority knows that, they just found out Raya was one.

The only time I've had to use my Alpha side to stop a rampage was on Hank Patel. He said his parents wanted him to have an American name when they arrived here, so they named him Henry Roshon Patel. He goes by Hank. His mutation is interesting. He's a verifiable genius, and I have no doubt he'll do great things in life, if he can get over being self-conscious of his mutation. He can keep himself under control most of the time, but anger is a strong trigger for him. He becomes blue, with blue fur. He gets much stronger, has more flexibility, durability, speed, and stamina. He gets claws, and he always has prehensile feet, though they can be hidden by normal shoes.

_During the second week we were here, I was being deposited back in the room, and Muscles Michaels made the mistake of kicking Akemi on the way out, just for fun. She had seen it coming and flinched away, so it wasn't as hard as it could have been, but it still hurt. Everyone was angry and shouted protests, but managed to keep their cool. All except Hank. He leapt, roaring, at Muscles Michaels, who tripped back in fear as Hank turned blue, allowing all the extra strength out._

_I managed to get between them and shove Hank back, where Piotr grabbed ahold of him. Hank flung his claws back trying to get free, but Piotr had anticipated this and transformed._

_I had stalked forward, pulling the Alpha out, saying,_ "Enough, Hank. Get control." _But he wanted nothing to do with the command, simply shaking his head to rid himself of it._

_But that told me this side of him was subject to animal instincts._

_He roared at me, so instead of using words, I tried communicating my dominance through a return roar, much louder than his own._

_He definitely felt this one more, having to physically roll his shoulders to shrug this one off._

_I got closer, in his face, and I could see he was calming himself down. I decided to give him a little extra push._

"Calm down. Everyone is okay."

_He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, the blue fading. Piotr let him go and changed back to normal, patting Hank's shoulder companionably._

_I hugged Hank in comfort, since I knew losing control like that made you feel like shit. He leaned into me, and no one moved until the door to the room slammed shut as Muscles Michaels made his escape. We laughed, and I think he punched the wall outside in anger._

_That at least cemented my theory that we were being watched and listened to all the time._

I grabbed the single bar of soap provided in each shower stall and did my best to feel clean for once while I was here.

I never felt completely clean, and I was beginning to doubt I ever would again.

When I exit the shower stall, I'm the first one out. Glancing at the clock, I see we still have twenty minutes. I'll warn the others when there's only ten.

I sit on one of the benches, wrapped in the towel, and ignoring the clothes for now. I lean over and drop my head to my knees, trying to block out the sounds of crying coming from the showers behind me. I can't cry in their presence, not easily anyway. Something about being Alpha won't let me; I think it's because I'm supposed to be their rock emotionally, I'm supposed to be the one who knows what to do, the one they can trust to protect them.

If I ever cry in front of them, I think we'll probably be doomed.

Five minutes later, I lift my head, take a deep breath, and get dressed. I stand in front of the mirrors, wiping away some of the steam, and part my hair how I like it, then towel dry it a little, trying to have some semblance of a style going, even though I know it won't last long.

Emma gets out of the shower while I'm towel drying and gets dressed, sighing all the while at the awful clothes.

"What, they too out of season for you?" I tease, knowing she won't be offended.

She laughs, "Ya know, I can take the no sunlight, I can take the constant fear, but these clothes I just –" she shudders to illustrate her point, and we both giggle.

I pay attention to some of the auras around us, and I see the affect our mildly carefree giggling has on the other girls. Some of them who couldn't calm down enough to stop crying are finally able to manage, and a piece of me calms right along with them.

Emma catches the same thing, just as she has since the first time we were allowed to shower. Our joke after we shower has become a staple, and while I'm angry we're all here in the first place, I'm glad Emma has the presence of mind to pay attention to the others.

" _Emma,"_ I think loudly to get her attention.

" _Yes?"_

" _I need to tell you something in case help comes. And then I need you to share it with Alex when we get back, but no one else. Okay?"_

She whips around quickly to look at me. _"Help?"_ she sends back, but then closes her eyes and takes a fortifying breath. Opening her eyes, I can see she has tears of hope brimming, but she keeps them in check and resolutely thinks, _"What's the message?"_

I think over the interaction I had yesterday with Sandy, and everything he told me.

" _Got it."_ She tells me when I'm done, and though the words are neutral, I can feel the underlying emotions of renewed hope, excitement, and trust in the outside world.

If only I could feel the last one. I'm too blinded by the cruelty in here to think so far outside this bubble we've been inhabiting for weeks.

I glance at the clock.

"Ten minutes left, ladies." I say, loud enough to be heard by all of them.

Some are finishing with the soap, but others have just been waiting for the ten minute warning to get out.

The twins step from their respective stalls at the same time, and Adelaide isn't far behind. Sofia steps out next, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Kenna exits the stall next to her and places a comforting hand on her shoulder before getting dressed. Akemi and Kitty step out, and share a smile, though they've both clearly been crying. They've forged a friendship during our time here, and I'm glad they are able to comfort each other. Erica steps out of her shower, wraps herself in her towel, and hands Raya, still standing in her stall with the water off, her own towel before getting dressed. Raya is more self-conscious than the rest of us, and we respect that. Anna-Marie appears next, her head held high, though the slight hiccup in her breathing betrays her crying.

I look around at everyone, resolutely doing what they must to get through this ordeal.

I walk over to Raya's stall and hand her the undergarments provided for her. She feels more comfortable with those on, so she finally exits to get dressed the rest of the way, though she goes as quickly as possible.

When we have two minutes left, one of the female assistants comes in, which is unusual. I think her name is Eileen. She's one of the few who will attempt to give me a reassuring smile during experiments, but today she won't look at me.

Perhaps because of my _activities_ yesterday.

"Follow me," she says quietly, then walks out, expecting us to follow.

We do.

We meet up with the guys about where we usually do on the walk back to our communal room, but today we continue by without a word.

Alex scoots up the group to my side.

"I don't like this," he tells me under his breath, trying not to attract unnecessary attention.

"Me either," I whisper, but there's nothing more to say as we reach the apparent destination.

Eileen opens a door to a room I've never been in before.

There are chairs set out around the room, away from a set-up that catches my attention.

It looks like an improvised tattoo parlor. There are two people, one man and one woman, both heavily tattooed sitting quietly by two chairs, cleaning their equipment. At first, I can't understand, and instead quietly get everyone into the room and keep them calm.

Then I realize.

They intend to permanently mark us. Some kind of branding.

I'm pulled from my shock by Emma's voice in my head. Emma usually does most of the communication since Erica's vine tattoo around her right eye moves whenever she uses telepathy, and we don't want to draw unnecessary attention to her.

" _Myka,"_ she starts, _"the man, he keeps thinking 'I know there's a telepath' over and over."_

I mull this over quickly, _"Ask what he wants."_

I get a mental gasp in response, _"He says he's been sent by Dan and the…the Mutant Defense Alliance."_

I make a quick decision, _"Can you open a pathway for us to speak?"_ It's something she's recently learned she can do, though it takes a lot of concentration.

" _Gimme a minute…"_

It doesn't take a minute, but seconds; she's getting good.

I feel it the moment the mental pathway is opened, and the man does a good job of hiding his shock.

" _Who are you?"_ I demand without preamble.

" _You must be Myka. My name is Grant. The woman is Sia. Dan somehow got us in here. You have more friends here than you think."_

His aura doesn't show any sign of deception, and the woman is scrutinizing all of us mutants, but not in a malicious way. More like she's just curious.

" _I am Myka. What are you doing here?"_ I question.

His voice comes back sad, _"They want us to tattoo the word 'MUTANT' on your left upper arm, curving along the top."_ The mental image I unexpectedly receive isn't so bad as far as placement and the font type they're planning.

My issue is they plan to brand us with the word they find derogatory, and others fear.

I take a deep breath and release my clenched fists, though I hadn't realized I'd clenched them in the first place.

Grant speaks again, _"Dan asked us to get a status check on you, and let you know the video Sandy got of you has already gone viral. There's outrage and we feel the ride is turning. Hopefully we can get you out soon. Sia and I have been instructed to remember as much about the interior of this place as possible so we can draw it out later. Unfortunately, we don't have a choice about the tattoos."_ He stops and thinks before projecting his thoughts again, _"I'm afraid the choice to have you all tattooed might be slightly our fault. They've seen the video and the reactions. They're afraid of losing control and this tattoo will forever remind the world of how they see you, which is nothing more than an interesting lab rat."_

I huff out a slight laugh, and Grant turns to look at me for the first time. The security guards jump, my small laugh disrupting the silence.

I guess we're waiting for Ratty to show so he can gloat or something.

I don't know where Muscles Michaels has been all day. Usually he takes great pleasure in gloating over us each day, but not today.

Maybe he still can't face me.

My lips curve up into a smile. I won't let Ratty have the pleasure of starting this process, and without Muscles here I can easily bulldoze his men.

" _It's not your fault. They're making the decisions, not you. We'll go through with it to keep you safe. Fighting back now would just get you hurt and you're trying to help. Thank you."_

He seems slightly taken aback by the gratitude.

" _We'll make sure they're good, and they're done right. It's the least we can do."_ Emma shuts down the mental link. He has kind blue eyes, which contrast the gruff look provided by his many tattoos. Sia has the same look about her, though her eyes hold a secret within them.

She catches me looking, and her hand twitches. On the counter behind her, one of the utensils silently rises into the air a couple of inches before settling back down. A smile curves my lips, getting a small smirk from her.

She's a mutant. Telekinetic, most likely.

" _Emma, tell the others she's a mutant, but not to react. They're here to help us, that's all they need to know. Tell them I'm sorry we have to do this, but we're going to own these marks like we were born with them one day."_ I tell her with all the conviction I posses, because I believe it.

They won't break us here. I already have an idea on how to own them later. And I think Grant and Sia will be open to helping us out.

Everyone except Mason has already figured out what was happening. There was trepidation and despair in the air, but after Emma sends the message out, I couldn't be more proud of how everyone becomes determined, relaxing into their chairs with small chuckles, and smirks of confidence.

It unnerves the guards, which is always fun.

Ratty still isn't here, and I take the opportunity.

I stand abruptly, causing the already tense guards to jump.

"Chill," I say, holding my hands out in a calming gesture I know they don't find comforting in the least.

"Well, since we all know why we're here, might as well get on with it." I roll up the short left sleeve of my shirt to expose the target area.

One of the nervous guards, I think the second in command, steps forward trying to be confident.

"We wait for Dr. Ratley. Those are our orders," he says, as firmly as he can manage. And hey, his voice doesn't waver, so props to him.

I laugh in his face, "Hey, if you want a tattoo as well, you can wait for Ratty all you want, but those aren't _my_ orders."

I walk over to the chair by Grant, "Make it badass, yeah?" I tell him, earning a chuckle.

Erica gets up and lazily walks over to Sia's chair.

As Grant goes about preparing my shoulder, we all listen to the conversation Erica and Sia start, which only makes the guards more nervous, which is fantastic.

"Looks like you've already gotten inked, huh? They're done real well," comments Sia.

Erica shakes her head, "No, they're birthmarks."

Both Sia and Grant stop at this and look at the intricate design adorning Erica's face, as well as her palms with the very different symbols of healing and toxicity.

"Watch," Erica commands. Her face birthmark of vines and leaves begins to move gracefully around, twisting, folding, the leaves opening and closing, and I know she's talking to Sia mentally.

Sia tenses the way people do the first time they experience telepathy, then she relaxes and Erica's mark stops moving, settling back into place.

Grant tests the needle a couple of times, catching my attention, and I see while I was watching the others he's marked out where the letters will go.

As the needle touches my skin, Alex catches my eye and I shoot him a grin, feeling confident despite being branded. I've chosen to allow it, and later I'll make it my own, so I'm feeling alright.

It doesn't take long. After Erica and I are done, Conner and Alex go. Then Adelaide and Kenna. Then the twins. Since I sat back down, I've had Mason on my lap. I don't know when Ratty intends to get here, but I think it's soon with the way the guards keep shooting nervous glances at the door.

He was gonna make us wait a hella long amount of time.

I need to have a frank…discussion about Mason and this tattooing business. As in, not a chance.

Finally, Ratty walks in, a smug grin on his face, expecting to see us sitting tense and scared in the seats, making my hackles rise.

But then he sees Diego and Sofia sitting in the chairs, getting the tattoo with smiles on their faces, having a conversation, and a little confusion clouds his eyes. Then he sees some of us already with bandages on our upper arms, and the smug smile drops little by little. His loss corresponds with how big _my_ smug smile is.

When he sees we aren't scared or sad or really even angry, but instead are having normal conversations and laughing, he looks dejected.

Then he notices that we're plain out ignoring him. We barely glanced his way when he strut into the room, and then I actually laugh at his face. It's gone tomato red again when he realizes his plan to try and further subdue us has been undermined.

He turns to the second-in-command guard, "I told you to wait for me," he hisses through clenched teeth.

I laugh again before the guard can answer, and that clues Ratty in very quickly to what went down.

As he stalks toward me, I stand and set Mason down on the seat. It just so happens that Diego and Sofia are finished at that moment, and both Grant and Sia have their attention fixed on us.

Ratty notices and reins himself in.

"Myka," he gets out through his frustration, and opens his mouth to continue, but I unnecessarily interrupt him, purposefully being a little shit.

"Yes?" I inquire oh-so-innocently.

He takes a moment to breathe, "Did you get the process started before I got here?"

"Well," I start in the preppiest voice I can manage, "I figured since you're always so busy you would appreciate not having to worry about this little thing." There's a chuckle from Sia, though I doubt Ratty knows who uttered it.

The cords in his neck pop out as he gets angrier. I've undermined his authority with the security men, I've made a fool of him in front of the tattoo artists, and I've turned what was supposed to be a degrading and humiliating branding into no big deal that we actually seemed to be excited about.

While he's spluttering and trying to think of something to say to regain control of the situation, I drop the fake smile and step menacingly into his space.

"But if you think for one second Mason is going to be sitting in that chair, _I_ will be the one branding _you_ with some very pretty scars across your face. Do we understand each other?" I informed him darkly.

His eyes bug out and an ugly vein appears in his forehead.

"Is that a threat?" he snarls at me, rather impressively for someone fully human.

I chuckle condescendingly, "It's a promise."

His mouth snaps shut, and with one look at all the mutants surrounding us, paying rapt attention and smirking at him, he makes a decision. Nodding curtly at me once, he spins around and marches out the door, muttering all the way.

We finish the tattoos the way we were before Ratty attempted his power play, and in no time all of us sans Mason are sporting a new tattoo while being led back to our holding room.

I nodded once at Grant and Sia as we were led out, and got a return nod from them both.

Maybe my trust in the outside world is more intact than I had originally thought.


	10. Some Levity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack has some rest before excitement.

That night we all sit quietly together, thinking and absentmindedly scratching at the bandaging around our new body decorations. I'm not worried about infections or other complications with Erica around. No, our biggest issue is dealing with being branded; everyone put on a good face, but I can tell this is getting to some. Our captivity reached a new level. I suppose it's one thing to be tortured, to see the effects of friends being tortured, but to be permanently labelled as the one characteristic that put you in such a position would mess with anyone's mind on a psychological level.

I'm sitting with Mason in my lap as I contemplate how we could possibly get out of here. We've put on a good show and endured quite enough. Now, if we were to escape, we have proof on our bodies of the things done to us here. I'm worried how such action would mess with the plans of the Mutant Defense Alliance, but I'm not sure I should care, while at the same time very sure I should be putting the mutants surrounding me first.

I don't even know our "mutant brethren" we've been attempting to help, I'm not even sure they would feel the same way or appreciate what we've done. I do know the mutants around me though, and no one should go through this treatment.

Maybe Ratty deserves this treatment.

And, okay, Muscles Michaels, too.

I never said I was a saint.

Mason shifts in my lap, drawing my attention back to my immediate surroundings, and I take stock of everyone.

Adelaide is pacing in the corner, growling softly and scratching at her arm. She and I perhaps have the worst time with the close quarters, with Connor right behind us. He stares at the ceiling a lot – kind of like he is right now.

His wing healed and for now causes him no pain. He's lying on his back with his hands behind his head, eyes wide open and sighing frequently. Erica is curled up with a blanket near him, staying close since she had to heal his wing. Her eyes are closed, but I can tell she's not asleep.

Akemi, Kitty, and Sofia are sitting huddled together to my left. Sofia has her head in Akemi's lap, and Kitty is half lying down with her legs propped on the wall. Akemi is playing with Sofia's hair while she relaxes, and Kitty hums a tune.

Sam, Sean, and Diego are sitting side by side against the wall, legs extended and crossed at the ankles. I noticed earlier as Sam, the youngest of the three, copied their position. It's almost cute, the way he's looking up to the older boys. It would be better if he idolized Diego more than Sean. Sean has a temper I'll need to keep an eye on, while Diego's moods are more stable.

Piotr is standing, leaning in the same corner Adelaide is pacing near. He hasn't moved for a while, but I can see his eyes are only half-lidded, tracking her movements carefully, though I don't know why. As far as I can tell, all she's doing is her best to pace a crater into the floor.

Kurt and Hank have bonded and are sitting quietly not far from Akemi, Kitty, and Sofia. They exhausted their conversation about whatever a little bit ago – apparently they're both gifted in math and science.

Remy and Anna-Marie are deep into a game of war with Remy's contraband deck of cards, while Raya watches. Anna-Marie is winning, much to Remy's apparent consternation, thought she doesn't appear to care one way or another.

Directly across from me, Blair has her head in her sister's lap while she stares at the ceiling. Bonnie is playing with the ends of her sister's flame red hair while she stares at a seemingly fixed point somewhere above my head.

Kenna and Emma are sitting in the center of the room. Well, Emma is sitting, leaning back on her elbows, while Kenna is doing some kind of handstand while her legs are crisscrossed. It must be comfortable for her, since she's been like that for a while, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Alex is sitting to my right, also crisscrossed, with his chin in his hand, deep in thought.

 _I can practically see the smoke coming from his ears, he's thinking so hard_ , I think to myself before laughing quietly.

But it's enough to drag everyone's attention to me, and I realize, looking around at their faces, that we've become stagnant. We've accepted our situation and are acting like there's nothing we can do about it – I guess the branding did some of its work.

So I do what has always helped me, and I do it with no warning.

I sing.

_All hail the underdogs,_

_All hail the new kids,_

Adelaide stops pacing and scratching.

_All hail the outlaws,_

_Spielbergs and Kubricks._

Kenna comes down from her yoga position.

_It's our time to make a move,_

_It's our time to make amends,_

_It's our time to break the rules,_

Sofia, Blair, Connor and Erica sit up.

_Let's begin._

_And I said Hey,_

_Hey, hey, hey,_

_Living like we're renegades,_

Mason turns to look up at me, with a toothy smile on his face, and I return it.

_Hey, hey, hey_

_Hey, hey, hey_

_Living like we're renegades,_

_Renegades, renegades._

Before I can think of another song, Kenna picks up unexpectedly.

_Sky's on, fire  
Lightening  
The stars come  
And you know I  
Tried to, tell ya  
Attempted to warn you  
And we've been praying, anticipating  
Been a long time coming for the road that we had to follow  
I'll be here tomorrow_

_Bet on it  
Pay no mind to what the doubters all say  
I'mma be around forever, always  
You can bet on it_

Kenna trails off and we all look around, waiting for someone else to pick up.

With a muttered "aw, hell, why not," Sean starts into "Go Big or Go Home" by American Authors.

_Don't feel like going home  
But all my cash is gone  
Yeah, I got nothing to do tonight_

Smiling, Diego, slightly out of tune, starts up as well.

_I'm passed out on the floor  
Up in the hotel bar  
But it don't matter, 'cause I'm feeling fine_

_I'm thinking life's too short, it's passing by  
So if I'm gonna go at all  
Go big or go_

Laughing, Connor picks up the background _Go! Go!_

_(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home_

By the end of the chorus, half of us are sing the background, while the other half sings the lyric. For the next verse, Kurt picks up the song, and we're all pleasantly surprised by his voice. There's laughter and Adelaide wolf-whistles, setting off more giggles.

_I gave the dice a roll  
And then we lost control  
You know we're lucky that we survived  
'Cause when we jumped the ship  
Oh, man, that boat, it flipped  
But we should do it all again tonight_

Piotr gives it his all, jumping in for a few lines.

_I'm thinking life's too short, it's passing by  
So if I'm gonna go at all  
Go big or go_

It's become less like singing, and more like a hysterical mess as we shout and scream the lyrics at each other, trying to be heard.

_(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home_

Akemi picks up, drowning out the boys trying to jump in.

_Giving my body all the things I need  
Rescue me with a little whiskey  
Staying out, don't need no sleep  
I'll sleep when I'm dead, you can bury me  
I'll sleep when I'm dead, you can bury me_

Sofia jumps in, successfully covering a playfully complaining Diego.

_I guess I'm going home  
'Cause all my cash is gone  
I spent it all trying to feel alive  
Go big or go_

_(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home_

Sean is given the honors of finishing the song.

_It's getting crazy  
We're gonna do some things that we won't forget  
(Go! Go!)  
Go big or go home  
I'm going crazy  
I'm gonna live my life, I got no regrets  
(Go! Go!)_

We all jump in again, singing the last line as loud as possible. _  
Go big or go home_

We taper off, laughing and joking.

We almost seem to forget where we are, and for the night, it feels more like a sleepover than being held against our will together.

But I'm paying attention, so when the song ends, I'm the only one who hears the footsteps hurrying away from the door to our holding room.

[]

The next day makes me nervous for the exact reason I should celebrate: no one comes to bring us for experimentation.

No food is brought to us, either. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought they had forgotten about us.

The others take advantage of the temporary peace afforded to us, and decide not to worry about the possibilities. I guess they trust me enough to worry for them.

It's probably mid-day, if I'm going by my possibly skewed internal clock. There's no sign of anything, no sounds outside the door, and I'm starting to get really worried.

The others are all talking in a group behind me while I stand facing the door, waiting for something, anything. I think my intensity unnerved them, because Alex abruptly gathered everyone around, and those more aware of things, namely Kenna, the twins, Emma, Diego, Piotr, did their best to help, and to engage the others.

But I can't make myself participate, I'm too wound up.

I'm listening so hard to the void of noise, that I startle when I finally hear something. The others must have been paying more attention to me than I realize, because they all freeze, and there's no way they heard it since my hearing is so much better.

But they definitely hear the next burst of noise. And the next as it gets closer to our door.

Alex walks up behind me.

Adelaide steps forward, tucking her hair behind her ear in an effort to hear better.

"Are those –"

"Gunshots." I say, decisively.

And we all wait to see what comes through the doorway.


	11. Back in the Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myka gets some fresh air, finally.

"Gunshots?" asks Sofia, her voice rising a few octaves in fear.

I turn and look at my pack. I sense fear from some, determination from others, and most heartening is the courage I can see many gathering.

I look at Alex as I sense my eyes shift to feline while my canines expand. He takes the hint and I turn back to the door while I listen to him give calm orders.

"Hank, I need you at maximum strength, Adelaide, shift what you need to," he starts, and I can hear the tell-tale hiss of Hank's quickly emerging blue fur, while Adelaide and I shift into our half-and-half forms.

"Diego, I need you ready," Alex continues, which results in the acrid scent of toxins – Diego's toxic spit.

"Piotr—" Alex starts, but he's cut off by the sound of the slight _clank_ that occurs whenever Piotr transforms into his metal state; he doesn't need to be told this could turn ugly fast.

The bursts of noise – gunshots – stops abruptly and don't continue, which sets me further on edge.

I startle some of the others when I snarl suddenly as I hear footsteps in the hallway. It must be audible from the hallway because the footsteps stop simultaneously; the sudden quiet allows me to hear too many heartbeats to quickly count before they start moving again.

The door banging open has me dropping into a crouch, ready to transform at a moment's notice. The strangers dressed in tactical SWAT gear with covered faces register my position immediately and order me down, but I only snarl in return, unsure what to make of them since they didn't open fire the second the door opened.

"Stand down, girl!" shouts the man in front, his voice only slightly muffled by the face covering.

I hear someone behind me squeal in fear at his shout and I have to remind myself he hasn't done anything to make him the enemy _yet._

I stay rooted to the spot as the others pour in behind him, spreading along the wall of the room facing us. My focus stays on the one continuing to tell me to be calm – which, for the record, has never actually succeeded in getting anyone to calm down in all of history. I'm not listening anyway, just focusing on his movements – he hasn't put the very large gun down yet and all the others keep theirs pointed vaguely in our direction.

But my attention is pulled away by the desperation in a man's voice from the hallway.

"Where is my son? Where is he? Dammit, Jim, let me in!"

"We haven't secured the room yet!" responds the man who must be Jim.

"They're being held prisoner! Don't treat them as a threat!" shouts the first man.

The first man to barge through the door (and shout a lot) turns to look at the commotion in the doorway, and his movement allows me to see as well.

The desperate man has removed his face covering, though he is also decked out in tactical gear. He's staring down Jim, I guess, because Jim is completely blocking the entrance.

Jim takes a deep breath while he shakes his head to respond, but the man is having none of it and just punches him straight in the face, sending Jim reeling into the room and knocking over Shouty McShouty Pants. I barely move out of their tumbling path and I'm so startled by this turn of events I feel my jaw drop while I shift entirely back to human.

Desperate Guy, on the other hand, spares them no mind and rushes into the room, eyes frantically searching the face of every mutant until—

"Daddy!"

And a blur goes by me as Mason runs and jumps into Desperate Guy's arms who lifts him effortlessly and clutches him close.

Mason keeps yelling "daddy" over and over again, so I take a wild guess and assume he's Mr. Camp. The big man himself, however, has tears running down his face and seems unable to speak for the moment.

I notice the other men in the room finally lower their weapons, and I sense the other mutants relax just a bit. No one has quite let go of their abilities yet, but there's less fear. Most are paying attention to the reunion happening before us, but others are still assessing us and what kind of threat we pose. Although I suppose that's understandable; I assume they've seen the abduction video and who knows how we reacted to six weeks of captivity?

Shouty and Jim have managed to untangle themselves and have regained their footing. Jim lost his mask, probably due to the punch, and I can see a bruise forming on his face in the outline of his mask – almost like a bad sunburn when you've been wearing sunglasses. Jim's face must feel tender because he keeps poking it with his fingers, as though that will make it better.

"Jim." Shouty says with a hint of disappointment, but also some amusement. He takes off his mask and turns to us; although his steel grey eyes are heard to read, I think he's unsure what to think of us. His gaze lands on me, and he takes a deep breath – but doesn't say anything. I'm not sure how to start this conversation either, though, and he's the adult, so I decide I'll leave it to him.

Luckily, we don't have to wait on him.

Mason seems to have had enough of the cuddling session because he wiggles to be put down, and his father complies, although clearly begrudgingly. Mason grabs his hand and tries to pull him further into the room, but Mr. Camp resists. He looks up at us and is clearly still uncertain about us, although he apparently accepts his son's mutations.

I notice the twelve other men, I've since had time to count them, are all watching Shouty – who I belatedly realize has a name tag thing that reads Willis – which leads me to believe Shou- Willis – is in charge here.

Mason frowns and drops his father's hand. He walks over to Alex and grabs his hand, before dragging him to me where he uses his free hand to grasp mine. He pulls us both forward toward his father.

I'm not sure I like this direction, especially since I saw Mr. Camp twitch like he wanted to stop his son from associating with us. Mason gets us about six feet away before Alex and I resist – but Mason accepts this and turns to his father.

"This Myka and Alex," he starts seriously, "and they are like me!" he proclaims. I can't help but wonder is the seven year old actually understands his father's hesitation.

Mr. Camp's eyebrows jump in surprise, before puckering together in concern.

"And just what is it you two can do?" he questions. I can tell Willis wants to jump in, but he's still at a loss. I can sense everyone's curiosity. But just barely over mine – has he not seen the video? Alex and I exchange a look over Mason, his expression reflecting the confusion I feel.

" _He doesn't know what Mason can do."_ Emma informs me, and it has the echoing quality that means it wasn't just to me. The confusion evaporating from Alex's aura tells me it went to him as well.

I take a deep breath. "I think you misunderstand, sir, we don't have the same ability as Mason, but we are all mutants."

He flinches at the m-word.

"Well, what do you do?" Willis jumps in, finally.

Alex and I exchange another look and we're in agreement – we're not sure we trust these people yet.

"Right now? We survive." Alex tells him.

"Show me." Demands Willis, but I shake my head.

"No." Willis looks from me to Alex.

"Show me, boy."

"Even if I was inclined to, I can't do it in here."

Willis doesn't seem to like this answer, but my attention is on the conundrum of Mr. Camp.

He's conflicted, his aura tells me this much. He loves his son, but the mutant part scares him. He doesn't know what he can do, he doesn't seem to want to know. He can accept the presence of the mutation in his son, but the rest of us are a threat? Does he think it's temporary? That it can be cured? What will he do in the future when Mason really gets a handle on his abilities?

"Myka" Alex says softly just as I register Mr. Camp's spiking heart rate and fear. I'd forgotten that sometimes when I read an aura too intently, I take on a predatory gaze that, understandably, makes people uncomfortable; their hindbrain starts telling them something dangerous has them in their sights.

I mentally curse myself for losing even that little bit of control in a room filled with men with guns who haven't fully deemed us harmless yet.

I lock eyes with Willis and see a calculating coldness there that sends shivers down my spine. I've never found premonition to be in my repertoire of abilities, but I am usually a good judge of character.

I decide I don't like this man, and his eyes narrow like he can sense my distrust and wants me to know he returns it.

The tension in the room is, thankfully, interrupted by the sudden appearance of two familiar figures.

"Have you found them?" Dan asks, just as he walks through the doorway, Sandy right behind him.

For the first time in a while, a genuine smile threatens to split my face, and I hear the sigh of relief from some of the other mutants who have managed to remain inexplicably still and silent.

Dan and Sandy push past Willis. Dan grasps my hand, "We're going to get you out of here." He tells me solemnly, and I hear a sob of relief from behind me.

After Dan lets go, Sandy pulls me into an unexpected hug, "I'm glad you're still okay! The video is huge – you're the face of mutants and people are rallying!"

All of this is said with excitement, but it sends me into a quick panic. What? No way. Not a chance. I don't want any of that.

But Sandy has let me go and isn't paying attention to my expression of dismay and panic.

After the hug, Dan explains they're here to rescue us. The men are from a private company who agreed to help, with the permission of the government, to get us out and take us somewhere safe. Apparently the lab was declared to have gone rogue by the president. A lot of the scientists, doctors, nurses, and security personnel are accounted for – but not Ratty or Muscles Michaels, which makes my stomach twist uncomfortably to know they're still free. Evidently, it's their absences that caused confusion and no one knew what to do, so no one came for us. Almost like Ratty and Michaels were warned.

During this explanation, which includes a specific assurance that we will be able to just walk out of the building, I sense the other mutants relax further. The acrid scent of Diego's toxins leaves the air, and I sense more than hear Hank and Piotr return to normal.

Adelaide is the last to shift back to fully human – and only after she receives a glance from me. She was making the men nervous.

The next few moments blur together in my memory because I don't want to remember anything more about this building. The men with guns reluctantly walk out first not really wanting us at their backs, but lead the way through the hallways anyway. Mr. Camp picks Mason up and walks just ahead of Dan and Sandy, who are just ahead of the group. Alex walks at the front of the group of mutants. I walk at the back, in a daze.

I think there's a part of me that was sure I would die down here. And it is 'down here' as we walk up four flights of stairs. Leaving seems almost surreal, and I'm sure I'm dreaming. But it's different. The few times I dreamt of escape or rescue or just _leaving_ there were whoops of joy from the other mutants, and we were running toward freedom.

But real life isn't a dream, and our exit is somber. We may have survived this, but who knows what the next destination holds. We've been promised before nothing would harm us. I think the private army guys are feeling the subdued atmosphere as not a one utters a sound.

I'm deep in a haze of depressing thoughts when we pass a café looking room with a wall of windows – and I stop. Inside there are more men watching over the personnel who have ensured our personal hell for six weeks. There are police officers and officials in suits as the people in lab coats and nurses outfits sit at the tables in handcuffs.

The others have noticed I stopped, and they're waiting just out of sight of the people inside the room, but I know the mutants can see some form of justice being dealt, whether it lasts or not.

The police officers notice me first. They stop and turn to look at me, all conversation dying on their lips, though I couldn't hear them anyway. Perhaps if I had tried, but I didn't have the energy. The military guys follow suit, and then the suits. Many of their expressions show pity, but I don't care about them. My focus is on those who tortured me and mine. They all glance up to see what got everyone's attention, but then they differ. Some look away quickly, inscrutable expressions flitting across their face. Others glare, still stuck in their hatred of us. Some appear sad, but I find I can't feel anything for them. Even my anger is gone.

It scares me that I don't feel anything about them. It scares me when the only thing that breaks through the fog is satisfaction that those who harmed Connor are nowhere to be seen, likely still recovering.

My eyes refocus to see my own reflection in the highly polished glass. I see my face but I do not recognize it. Even in the mirrors after showers I could still see myself. But the girl I see now has no expression but slightly pinched eyebrows as though confused. I almost think I can see the fog my brain feels in the reflection of my eyes, but the moment passes quickly and suddenly everything is clear in one singular thought: it's time to leave.

I turn and begin walking again, cueing the others to do so. I can feel the eyes of everyone in the room on my back, but I don't spare them another glance.

It's just one corner later that I realize I can smell the outdoors, then it's just one doorway, and I can see the blinding sunlight.

I'm still in the back, but I can hear the light laughter and loud whoops coming from the other mutants as they choose to enjoy the moment and not worry about the future.

I step out the door and stop in the shade of the steps. I look over the same meadow where we were originally lined up before this hidden lab and I watch the mutants I've become family with over the last six weeks. I watch the men relax as they watch them enjoy being free.

Alex spreads his arms and seems to be soaking up the sun just outside the edge of shade. Adelaide starts running laps, just around and around, Piotr watching her like before. Connor spread his wings for the first time in weeks and a smile splits his face from ear to ear. Others lie down in the grass, and just bask in the sunlight. Mason has gotten free from his father again, and is playing tag with Sean and Remy.

I don't notice Dan watching me, or the small camera Sandy has as he walks around quietly.

I step out from the shade a few feet to the right of Alex, and tip my head back with my eyes closed. And I just enjoy the warmth of the sun on my sun. A small sigh escapes me and I feel myself smile a little as the last of the fog in my mind drifts away.

Whatever the future may bring, I've never felt so free in the sunshine.


	12. A Bus Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just like a field trip...to an unknown location.

We're loaded onto one of those big buses tour companies use. How they got it into the backroads country I have no idea, but I really don't care as long as they can get it back out. Before we got on, I gathered some of the older kids around and made a quick plan, just in case.

I get on the bus first and walk the length of it while Alex makes sure no one boards yet. I think the mercs are simultaneously humoring us and impressed. After I make sure there's no surprises, and I take a moment to stare down the driver, I nod to Alex. I sit in the first seat right by the door. Alex goes to the middle row and others scatter between us as discussed. Alex makes sure no one sits behind him.

Adelaide sits on the other side from me, directly behind the driver. Bonnie and Blair take a seat on each side in the middle of our designated sitting area. Diego positions himself between them and Alex. Piotr sits between Adelaide and the twins. The others must notice, but they keep quiet and just pick seats until the front of the bus is full, except the seats next to myself and Adelaide. Dan and Sandy have chosen to sit behind Alex, but we've already decided to trust them, so I don't say anything, and after a head shake from me, neither does Alex.

We decided it was better for all of us to sit near each other rather than spread out. It helps keep everyone calm, and makes it easier to help or protect someone should the need arise.

But nothing happens. We get on the highway and I see signs telling me we're somewhere in Virginia, near the Shenandoah National Park. Based on a family vacation to North Carolina a few years back, where we made the mistake of driving, I'd say I'm about 12 hours from home. The thought makes my a lump form in my throat and my eyes prick with tears, but no tears fall.

Adelaide suddenly plops herself down next to me, startling me and drawing me out of depressing thoughts. I shove memories of home down deep and out of the way.

"What's up?"

She growls lightly, "Mason's dad sat behind me with Mason and he's so nervous he's putting me on edge," she admits.

I chuckle. Mr. Camp chose to get on the bus with us after the other mercs insisted Mason couldn't ride in one of the other vehicles leading and flanking the bus with him. Mason sat behind Adelaide and apparently he's nervous to be on a bus with mutants.

"Well," I start, "your staring at him probably wasn't helping."

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" she asks, confusing me, "Is he nervous because I stare, or do I stare because he's nervous and making himself smell like prey?" Her question makes more sense now, and I laugh outright.

The bus is mostly quiet, with murmured conversations, and my outburst causes Mr. Camp to jump, and now I can also smell his nerves.

But I'm not bothered by it, and I can tell Adelaide's amusement is overpowering her animal side. Mostly I can tell because her eyes shifted back to human.

I don't know if she was even aware her eyes had shifted, and were probably the reason Mr. Camp was so nervous, but I'm not inclined to inform her now that it doesn't matter anyway. She seems to decide it's not worth going back to her seat, and instead rests her head back and closes her eyes. Within a few deep breaths she's asleep, and a peek into her aura shows it's a deep sleep; I envy her that. I won't be able to really sleep until we've reached our final destination and I've determined it's safe.

My only goal is still to find someone capable of taking care of my pack, and then relinquish responsibility to them before the others realize I'm not worth following.

I decide we're safe enough to leave Adelaide alone in her slumber. I have questions for Dan, and now is as good a time as any to ask them. As I make my way down the aisle, ignoring a dirty look from the driver for moving around, I briefly check-in with the others.

Mason is sound asleep against his father, who only manages a half-smile as I pass, before quickly looking away. Sitting behind me, and now Adelaide, is Kitty and Anna-Marie and they're half-turned to talk quietly with Akemi and Emma behind them. I get smiles from them all, and Emma nods.

" _I think we're safe enough for now. All Dan knows about our future is that we're to meet our 'benefactor' who really got us out. He's determined to make sure we'll be safe before planning the next steps of the Mutant Defense Alliance."_ She whispers in my head.

I nod to show her I got the message, and she goes back to their discussion. It sounds like they're debating which of their favorite foods is actually the best, and I smile at their insistence the others convert.

Behind Mason and his father are Piotr and Kurt. Feeling my gaze, Piotr cracks his eyes open slightly, but closes them when he sees it's just me. He's got his arms folded across his chest.

I put my hand on his shoulder, "Sleep, Piotr, we're safe enough for now."

He nods and rests his head back. I don't need to tell Kurt to rest while he can. He's clearly passed out against the window, mouth slack and waiting open to catch some bugs. I barely suppress a giggle when his tail swishes around like a cat's, hitting Piotr's arms, though he doesn't seem to care.

Behind them, it doesn't surprise me to see Sofia and Sam sitting together, also already asleep on each other, heads together. They arrived in the same van and clearly formed some kind of bond while trying to keep Mason calm.

Across from them is Sean and Remy. They both look up at me, and I see Remy is trying to teach Sean a card trick.

"If you can figure out how to beat him," I say to Sean, "let me know. I need to win back my hypothetical five dollars."

"Yeah, I really don't see that happening," Sean tells me, and Remy chuckles.

"You'll get it soon enough, I'm sure," Remy tells Sean, but his smile says otherwise, and Sean knows it, throwing his hands up in the air in good-natured defeat.

I laugh. "When you guys get frustrated with each other, see if you can catch up on some sleep. We're safe enough for now."

They both nod seriously.

In the row behind them, Bonnie and Blair are on opposite sides of the aisle, fast asleep. They've both moved the arm rests up, and are lying down across the empty seat beside them, heads toward the aisle. Almost like it makes them feel closer.

Behind Bonnie on the right is Conner and Erica. They've been nearly inseparable the past couple of days. When I stop by them, Erica is checking Conner's wing.

"Everything alright?" I ask, mildly alarmed, wondering if he's experiencing any pain or stiffness.

"Yeah," Conner tells me, "she's just checking."

"I've never healed anything like this before, I wanted to make sure everything is healed the right way." Erica explains distractedly, still focused on where his wing meets his back.

"Let me know if anything changes," I say, "and see if you can't get some sleep."

I turn to see Kenna and Raya sitting on the opposite side. Raya is asleep with her head on Kenna's lap. They've also lifted the arm rests out of the way. Kenna is staring off into space, worrying her lip with her teeth, and rubbing Raya's back.

I squat in the aisle by Kenna, "What's up? You ok?"

She startles and looks at me, not answering right away. I read worry in her brown eyes, and her aura shows me distinct unease.

"I just don't know," she says, and stops.

"Don't know what?" I ask, though I don't know anything either at this point.

"Don't know what to think."

I wait.

"We don't know where we're going. Again. What if it's another psychological experiment? What if it's a game and we're still playing? What if we're not really safe?" She says in a rush, like she's afraid to hear the answer.

I take a deep breath, glad half of the others are asleep and the others aren't paying attention.

"Kenna, we're safe enough for now. You saw Mason with his dad?" She nods. "That wasn't an act, it was a real reunion. Hopefully one we can replicate with our own families. I can smell lies and Dan isn't lying. We're going somewhere to get help, this much I believe." She still seems unconvinced, and she's staring hard at the floor.

"Hey, look at me," she does, slowly, "I don't believe this is a game, or another experiment. And even if we're somehow brought for more testing, I'm not going to let it happen, not again." Her eyes widen in shock, and I lower my voice.

"I promise you, no one is going to experiment on us again, ok? No more tests without consent. We've played nice for too long. If we're not getting any help from other mutant brethren, they're not worth our sacrifice, got it? No more mad scientists." I search her eyes, looking for some relief.

I don't see it immediately. She's thinking my words over, and hopefully hearing the sincerity behind them. I'm proud of her for taking time to consider what I've said, rather than just listening and believing what she's told.

She nods, "Okay, no more tests, no more worries."

I smile, "Good, now follow Raya's lead and get some sleep."

"M'not sleepin'," comes a muffled response.

"Well you should be," I respond without missing a beat, though I'm startled. I prepare to stand, but suddenly Raya's hand shoots out faster than I think she should be able to move, and grasps my wrists.

Without opening her eyes, she tells me, "I'll fight with by your side if they try to take us to another 'facility' and test on us."

My eyes widen, because I never pictured the others fighting back with me.

But at the same time, I don't actually believe it will come to that, this time, so I grasp her hand with my free one and squeeze.

All three of us startle when Hank, who's sitting behind them sprawled across the seats, snores like a freakin' chainsaw. I sense Conner and Erica jump as well, and then Diego, across the aisle from Hank, chuckles at our reactions.

"He's been out cold since the first five minutes of the ride." He tells me, scooting himself down in his seat. "And I think I'll follow his lead, now that we might be fighting our way out of whatever comes next."

"Now, hold on a minute," I start, but Diego only laughs and winks at me before closing his eyes.

I shake my head, glad to have concluded the rounds, nearly.

I walk between Diego and Hank's seats, and Alex is already watching me.

"You good?" I ask.

He nods, "You?"

"Yeah. Just checking in on my way to talk," I say as I tilt my chin in Dan and Sandy's direction, both of whom are practically glued to their laptop screens. Alex catches my meaning immediately, and turns to look between the seats.

He looks at me in surprise when I drop into the seat next to him, much like Adelaide had done to me earlier.

"But not yet," I say, meaning I don't want to talk to them just now.

He nods, and I close my eyes, trying to savor the calm of the moment. I take a deep breath and hold it a few seconds before letting it out. It sounds like a sigh, though I hadn't meant it to. I can feel my muscles relaxing more than they have in some time. I'm not sure why it happens right now. Maybe because we're actively travelling away from the lab. Maybe because I've just checked on everyone and I'm satisfied everyone's momentarily safe. Maybe a combination. All I know is sitting here, I'm not quite so stressed out.

After a few minutes of silence, Alex speaks.

"You're doing well, you know," but stops there.

I crack an eye open and side-eye him, waiting for the explanation. In my mind, the list of things I'm handling well currently, amounts to not bursting into tears on this damn bus.

Tears of relief, of anger, of sadness, I don't know. I just know I want so badly to cry, and it just got worse when Raya practically pledged her allegiance to me in a fight. Part of the reason I'm managing not to is because I actually can't. Damn Alpha tendencies won't let me, even though I know it would be cathartic, and maybe I could actually calm down for real.

"You're doing well leading them, leading us," he says, drawing me out of my thoughts.

My eyes pop open in disbelief and then I scoff while shaking my head.

"Seriously," he tells me, "I don't think any of us could have kept us all calm for six weeks like you did."

"Maybe I shouldn't have," I respond quietly, startling myself with the thought I haven't been allowing myself to think. But now it's out.

I expect him to ask what I mean, recoil from me, doubt me now that my self-doubt is exposed, but he doesn't do any of that. He doesn't try to tell me I'm wrong to second-guess myself. Doesn't try to correct me in any way.

All he does is say, "What's done is done, and we're all out of there alive. I'd say that means you've done something right."

I don't know what made him say it, and it's not necessarily profound in any manner, but it's exactly what I needed to hear. To me, his words are telling me it's enough to be exactly as I am now. I don't need to know the exact right thing to do so long as the end goal is achieved. For a moment, the responsibility I've been feeling is a little lighter.

He doesn't say anything after that, just watches me mull the words over. After a moment, I meet his gaze, and he looks a little thrown by my reaction to his statement. But he recovers quickly.

"I heard Dan say we've got about two and a half hours of driving to do, which means there's about two hours left of the drive. There'll be plenty of time to ask questions after you follow your own advice and get some sleep. The sun's almost down and it's my turn to keep watch while you nap," he says with a small grin, referring to when I let him sleep in the van on the way to Virginia.

I think he meant to make me smile, but I'm suddenly hit with exhaustion, and for the first time in a while, I feel like I might actually be able to sleep. So I let his words that let me just _be_ wrap around my worries and manage to actually fall asleep.

[]

I wake up slowly to the sensation of being pulled upright, then the last few hours comes back to me and I jerk awake.

"Myka," Alex says from my right, "hey, it's been about an hour. I figure an hour should be good for whatever questions you have for Dan."

The adrenalin that surged through my system drains quickly, but still manages to take the drowsiness of sleep with it. I look at Alex and notice that it's gotten much darker out in the hour I've been asleep. A quick check of auras in the bus reveals all the mutants are asleep. Good, they need it.

I take stock of myself briefly, and notice I'm not stiff despite apparently sleeping sitting up? But then I remember the sensation of sitting up, and notice the arm rest between Alex and me is pushed up. I glance at him, but his expression doesn't reveal anything other than patience waiting for me to wake up fully.

"Yeah, an hour should be good," I say, finally responding to him.

I stand up in the aisle and turn to Dan and Sandy. They're both still on their laptops, but it seems like less intense concentration now that the sun's gone down.

I clear my throat and they both look up. A quick aura check shows me Dan is tired but hopeful. Sandy is feeling accomplished? Smug? Something like that. Sometimes emotions and feelings are hard to discern when they're not clearly one or the other. There's a mix of happiness tempered with pride.

I don't have to declare my intentions though. Upon seeing me, Sandy stands up and moves back in the aisle, inviting to take his seat with a smile. When I do, he sits next to Alex, and there's a surge in Alex's aura that tells me he's unsure of Sandy.

I stand again, and lean over the seat to talk to him, "Sandy is a friend. He snuck in while I was in the separate cell. He's helping us."

Alex looks hard at him.

"He got inside and then left you there?" I detect a hard edge to his voice.

"He tried to get me to go. I refused without you guys. He got a video of me out, though, he's not going to harm us.

Alex is quiet a moment.

"Then he's got nothing to fear from me."

He looks at me then, and I see what he's not saying. The second Alex senses a threat from Sandy, he'll no longer consider him a friend, no hesitation, and no matter what I say.

Good. I need someone who's not afraid to disagree with me in the event that I'm wrong about someone or something.

I ignore that thought because the implication is that I see myself as an actual leader to my pack, rather than a temporary one actively searching for a better one for them.

I nod to let Alex know I caught his unspoken words. I sit back down and turn to Dan, who's closing his laptop.

It's through an hour-long discussion with myself, Dan, Sandy, and Alex that I learn what's been happening in the last six weeks since we were abducted.

Alex and I had the most public capture. Apparently no one was prepared for the charity event. The video of me becoming a dragon, and then being talked down by Alex, went viral.

Apparently, there are even remixes of my roar. I feel my face heat up when Sandy tells me with a laugh.

The impromptu protest lasted for a couple of hours, and required additional back-up be called in from neighboring counties.

At first, the government was publicly criticized for interrupting a charity event, then students really started making waves about the actual abduction of honors students. The group on campus is led by a girl named Alycia Ramirez. She was there at the arena, and apparently feels some obligation to help us.

I briefly wonder if she's the girl I made eye-contact with and yelled at her to run.

Then the woman from the convenience store got together with the employees and store owner and began they began spreading her cell phone video around. They shared surveillance video and gave interviews of eye-witness accounts. Anything they thought could help us.

It took a couple of weeks for the Mutant Defense Alliance to really get up and running, but they started making real headway shortly after.

Dan wrote in to newspapers and magazine across the country, trying to share his story. The MDA was connecting with other mutant protection groups. People were starting to listen. But the government insisted we were all taken to a holding facility until our danger to the public was determined.

Most of our families spoke out, calling for our return and insisting we aren't a danger. I didn't ask whose parents did and didn't speak out.

I'm surprised when Alex doesn't either, but then I realize I don't really know anything about his home life.

The turning point in public opinion, in Sandy's words what took everything from "murmuring to shouting," was the video of me. The video was proof that we weren't at just a holding facility. It showed that we were real people, capable of being hurt, and capable of caring for others.

Apparently after it was posted, it reached 5.5 million views in a mere three hours.

It racked up more views in a shorter time frame than the Daniel video that started this whole mess.

The public outcry was "damn near deafening," according to Dan. Public officials were left with no choice but to take a stand on the issue. The rest stop was in Walterboro, South Carolina, showing we were going up the coast. Florida's governor, Rick Scott, called for the safe return of the Florida residents removed illegally. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal denounced those who had taken us and driven through their states.

South Carolina was adamant we be returned safely. Apparently South Carolinians felt personally responsible for us since we directly interacted with other South Carolinians. Their governor, Nikki Haley, has apparently been the face of the movement for mutant protection. She's been rallying the Congressman, and is actually making some progress.

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory stated we weren't true citizens and therefore nothing done to us was illegal.

But, according to polls, there's a split in public opinion of that stance – so there's still hope for North Carolina.

Other states mostly expressed worry we were being mistreated on their land. By law, Dan and Sandy and the MDA couldn't reveal the exact location of the facility, since it was listed as top secret. Not without going to jail, and sending the whole movement down the drain.

But then the game changed when President Obama declared the lab had gone rogue, and denounced all the staff, their experiments, and our treatment. He declared us citizens, just as we had been when we were taken. It turned into a massive ethics debate. And there's debate on the legality of his words. Where does the law afford for us? Do we need an amendment explicitly declaring mutants citizens?

Personally? That would make me feel a lot better.

But no one could agree on what to do with us. We were chosen and rounded up because we were discovered and deemed dangerous. Surely we couldn't just be released?

That's when our benefactor stepped in.

He convinced government officials he could take us in. In fact, he's begun a school for the gifted, and he would accept us as students.

They were reluctant until he revealed he was also a mutant, and suddenly they would agree to anything to get him out of their office.

He contacted Dan and told him to gather whoever necessary to get us out, then gave him the name of a clinic in DC where we could be looked over and he would meet us.

So, Dan did. The man hired the bus to get us to the clinic, and Dan doesn't know where we'll going from there.

But he bends over backward to assure me he's not going to let us just disappear and that we don't actually have to go with the man.

I disagree. I'm pretty sure the government is sending us with him to get us out of the public eye. Even though we've already been secluded for six months.

But Dan still has some mistrust in his aura for mutants in general, I think. Not us, but when he says the word "mutant" there's a flash of something I can't quite discern in his aura. And I notice he never uses the word in regard to us, which is interesting.

And also something to investigate another day, because we've arrived at the clinic and it's time to wake the others.

Time to see what life throws at us next.


	13. A New Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack gets some rest thanks to a new ally.

It only takes a moment to wake everyone on the bus. Alex and simply I walk to the front, following Dan and Sandy, placing a hand on shoulders here and there. The message to wake the others is clear, and by the time I wake Adelaide in the front seat, there's groggy mumbling from each row. But the bus goes silent when someone catches sight of the lights in the clinic's windows.

Not being familiar with the DC area, I haven't a clue where we are, but I almost don't care as long as we can all get some peaceful sleep. Judging by the droopy eyes, and incessant yawning despite spiking anxiety, everyone on the bus feels the same. I can even feel Alex swaying slightly next to me as we watch Dan greet a woman dressed in scrubs who emerged from the front doors when the bus pulled up.

I hear someone, Diego, I think, mumble something about "more damn nurses," but hell.

At least she's not wearing a white lab coat.

That would be too much for me to handle.

Dan gives a nod, seconded by Sandy's enthusiastic thumbs up, and I'm momentarily distracted by his apparently boundless energy while I'm thinking about how comfy the asphalt looks right about now.

Alex grabs my arm, and I start to think maybe I'm the one swaying in exhaustion. Or maybe it's both of us. Either way, I shake my head and begin the descent off the bus.

Before reaching Dan and the nurse, a petite Asian woman, I turn to watch the other mutants stumble off the bus, some of them already halfway back to sleep. I have to suppress a smile when I remember some of them declaring their readiness to fight if needed; it's clear no one feels up to that kind of effort tonight, and I don't sense any kind of danger here.

A quick peek over my shoulder at the nurse's aura shows me compassion, sadness, and anger. She's looking us over with a critical eye, probably for visible injuries, but there's a layer of protectiveness. I turn to face her and look further into her aura.

_There._

A flash of protective instinct specific to mothers. She must have children, or at least a child. I feel the last of my tension drain away, and I'm thankful, maybe for the first time, that I can see auras. Knowing she's not a threat, but an ally, will make this whole process easier since I don't have to waste time determining her threat level.

Alex must notice the change in my posture, because he nudges my side and raises a brow when I glance at him. But when I open my mouth to speak, Adelaide beats me to it, sidling up to my left side.

"Mom" she says simply.

Now Alex looks very confused staring at Adelaide then glancing at the woman, and finally to me again.

"Okay, I'm lost," he says, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

Grinning, I look to Adelaide to clarify, but she just gives me a toothy grin, content to leave Alex to his confusion.

"She's a mom," I say, "and her mother bear instinct is expanding to us."

He nods, understanding now.

Dan and the nurse finish their conversation and turn to me, so I start toward them. I don't sense the others moving after me, and I'm inwardly proud; they're waiting for me to make sure everything is as we were told.

When I reach them, Dan opens his mouth to introduce us, but she beats him to it, extending her hand in greeting. Since I'm still reading auras, I notice a flash of irritation in his.

"My name is Bellamy Wu, and I'm a doctor here. My staff and I have been instructed to examine you for injuries, malnourishment, things like that, then provide you a place to sleep tonight, as well as a meal. In the morning, you'll meet the man who contacted us and set this all up. He regrets that something came up and he couldn't be here to meet you."

Everything is said directly and with no fanfare. Her handshake is firm, and her words leave no room for argument. Usually that kind of thing rankles Alpha tendencies, but for some reason her words don't bother me.

I actually find myself liking this Bellamy Wu.

So I smile.

"My name is Myka, and that sounds fantastic."

[]

The clinic staff ordered pizza for us.

And it was heavenly.

We were all examined, and found to have no injuries. We were a little dehydrated, since no one brought us food or water this morning, but nothing else was wrong. Everyone was just tired.

We're all gathered in a large room filled with cots. Lying on my back on my chosen cot, I listen to a variety of noises: snoring, murmuring, sighs, and I can hear Diego blowing spit bubbles in his sleep. Maybe a result of the whole toxic spit thing, maybe not, but it's still cute. Not that I would ever say anything about it. I figure it just means he's relaxed in a deep sleep, and I'm hoping everyone else is the doing the same.

I could hear everyone's breathing patterns change as they dropped off into their individual dream-lands. Adelaide was the last to cling to consciousness, perhaps the Alpha in her waiting for her pack to sleep before she could relax. But I outrank her, so her wolf instinctively looks to me for protecting rather than trying to protect me.

Despite not really wanting to be a leader, I will gladly be a protector, so I don't mind that she falls asleep before me. I'm finally able to relax now. I roll onto my right side and see the silhouette of Mason on the cot beside me. Mr. Camp had to stay the night in a hotel while Mason stays here, something about the government deciding all of us have to go with the mystery benefactor and remain in seclusion for an undefined length of time. Dan and Sandy also had to leave for the night; we'll see all three again in the morning when we meet our benefactor. Most of the clinic staff left, as well. Only Dr. Wu is still here, making sure we knew she was just in her office if we needed something.

The SWAT guys who escorted us here skedaddled as soon as the clinic staff took charge of us. Though Willis left with a promise that he would see us again.

The words themselves were a smidgeon threatening, but the tone wasn't, and I'm left just a bit confused on what to think of him.

Now I'm alone with my thoughts, and not under threat of experimentation for the first time in six weeks. I just keep reviewing the last day, making sure everything really happened and wasn't a dream. That would suck big time.

Our benefactor must be wealthy if he can influence the government the way he has, and it makes me wonder what he has planned for us. Dan said he's also a mutant. Does he want to train us? Like a personal army or something? Maybe he's just crazy, if he can out himself to government officials. Why did he take so long to act on our behalf? Surely he didn't really require the assistance of the Mutant Defense Alliance.

And the more I think about the MDA, the more I wonder how useful they'll really be, in the long run. How many people who are a part of it are actually mutants? I'm sure some are, even if they hide it. What about the people who are fully a normal human? How long will their commitment last? How long will they continue to help once it's common knowledge us kids are safe?

How long will the MDA hold together once the ugly side of mutations shows itself? No one can be on perfect behavior all the time, let alone an entire group of people; eventually a mutant will get caught in an unsavory act. How many of the people who got involved to help save the children will change their minds once they realize human being are complicated and we're not docile children scared out of our minds?

We're definitely scared. But docile? Not so much. We're choosing to be, but that can change in a heartbeat.

Exhibit A: my bloody rampage a mere three days ago.

I shut that thought down and slam it into the same drawer thoughts of my family go for the time being. The last thing I need right now is to spiral down into a full blown meltdown before my pack is safe.

Shit. _The_ pack. Not my pack, they're not mine. I'm not their Alpha, I'm just keeping them safe until I find someone else to take care of them. Hopefully our benefactor can be that person, and I can eventually leave it all behind.

Leave these kids, leave behind the memories of torture, and maybe even leave human society. I can survive in any animal form necessary.

I decide that's enough thinking for tonight. I know it's my emotions leading my train of thought, so I let my go-to shape, the tiger, rise just below the surface. My view of the world changes as my eyes shift, but I remain in human shape; for now, the tiger mind is most dominant, and my human thoughts shift to the back of my brain. The emotions dissipate as the tiger takes over; emotions are human and the tiger consciousness has no need or use for them, and so cannot handle them.

It's cheating, and aggressively avoiding the problem, but right now I just want to sleep, and this is the easiest way to clear my head.

I'm asleep in mere moments.

[]

I'm the first to wake up in the morning. I open my eyes just in time to see Dr. Wu retreat from the doorway, presumably checking on us.

The clock on the wall says it's 7am, and I groan internally. I hate getting up early, and I've never been good at it. But I can feel that I'm up for good now, so I roll off the cot, careful to not disturb anyone.

I find a bathroom in the hallway, then follow the smell of coffee to a staff room not far from the room where the others sleep, and in view of the front door. Standing in the doorway, I can see the entirety of the small room, and Dr. Wu is standing at the window, gazing out while drinking her coffee.

I step inside.

"How come there's no one else here?" I ask without alerting her to my presence.

She doesn't even startle. "What do you mean?"

"This is a clinic, right? Shouldn't there be people here getting ready for the day?"

She finally turns to me. "There's water bottles in the fridge, if you'd like one."

But that doesn't answer my question, so I wait.

"We're a private recovery clinic. And we've been paid well to stay closed today."

I move to retrieve a water bottle, then join her at the window. She remains with her back to it while I gaze out at the early morning sunshine.

"Why?"

"Hm?" she hums, sipping her coffee.

"Why help us? Just because your clinic was paid well?"

"I actually volunteered," she starts, and we're still not looking at each other.

I notice a dove in a bird bath outside, splashing away and generally making a mess.

"Everything that happened to you, it reminded me of why I became a doctor in the first place. And I had lost sight of that."

I watch the dove as another joins and there's a brief kerfuffle before they decide to share the water.

"To help the helpless?"

"To help mutants." She says simply. Every word is produced easily, like the answers should be obvious, but she doesn't mind vocalizing them. She doesn't even trip over 'mutant.'

"How long have you known about mutants?" Maybe she came across them during medical school? But then it wouldn't have been why she went to medical school.

"Since I was a child."

That surprises me, and I choose not to say anything, instead letting my eyes track a squirrel racing around a tree trunk.

"I grew up in Minnesota and I had a best friend who lived next door. We did everything together. In middle school, when we really hit puberty, she told me something strange happened to her, but she refused to tell me what. She found a book one day, describing the possibility of 'mutant phenomena' and said that was it. She just expected me to take her word for it, and I did. I knew she wouldn't lie about something like that."

She takes another sip of coffee, and I focus on the birds again. Free in the water, they know they can take off in a moment's notice and just be another bird in the sky, anonymous.

"She lived in fear that someone would find out. I couldn't convince her it would be fine." She huffs. "I guess it's good she never listened to me. It turned out so great now, I can't imagine the blowback then." She cringes.

"Sorry, I don't mean to belittle what you went through."

I just shrug. We're still side by side, staring in different directions, but not really seeing anything.

"Anyway, she got more reserved, and I got more outgoing. We still hung out all the time, but I would also go to parties in high school, while she stayed home, too scared to go out. People whispered about her, but as long as nothing was said about mutations, she didn't seem to care. She just had so much anxiety, she was sick all the time."

She takes a deep breath, and I notice the squirrel has moved to the garbage can in the garden area outside the clinic. It disappears inside, then reappears at the top, over and over again.

"I asked questions about it, sometimes, her mutation, but she never wanted to talk about it. She said she tried her best to never use it, and therefore she didn't really understand anything about it. She just wanted to keep it hidden, and all of her energy went to that goal. But there was no finish line. It was a forever endeavor, and that weighed down on her."

I close my eyes for a moment, and only my grip on the windowsill keeps me grounded. I know that feeling all too well. Those moments when you realize this hiding and lying is forever, and you'll always live on the edge of being caught. The scientists were trying to break me, but they never came as close as those moments did.

"The winter of our junior year of high school, she snuck out on what ended up being the coldest night of the year. She walked to the park near our houses, sat on a bench, and just waited. She chose to freeze to death, rather than face another day of fear that she'd be found out."

Dr. Wu stops to take a breath, and I open my eyes. One of the doves has left.

"Her note to her parents didn't say anything other than she was tired. Everyone asked me all kinds of questions, but I never outed her. What would I say that anyone would believe, anyway? But it changed my life. She was so alone and confused. I thought that maybe if I became a doctor I could understand mutations and help someone understand what was happening to them. Maybe I could help someone find a way to live with it. But no one knew how to find the mutations, if they even believed in it. So I lost sight of my goal."

"Until us," I whisper quietly.

"Until you," she agrees, sipping from her mug again.

I watch the squirrel race back to the tree.

"She never hinted at her mutation?"

Dr. Wu sighs, "Not that I was ever able to decipher."

I nod and continue to watch the creatures outside in the sunshine.

"Can I go outside?" I ask abruptly, turning my head to look at her finally.

She turns to me and smiles, "Of course."

[]

After about fifteen minutes, Diego walks out of the clinic with Piotr, and they're the last to join Dr. Wu and me in the garden area. I like it better than sitting inside another institution, even if it is much nicer than the previous one, and I think the others feel the same. Dr. Wu, who insists we call her Bellamy, doesn't question our eagerness to sit in the sun, and I'm glad.

Blair, Conner, and Alex seem to be among the most excited to simply be able to wake up and step outside. Conner actually opens his wings completely, and it's only the second time we've ever seen them fully expand.

Then we watch him take off for the first time ever, after a quick grin over his shoulder –and wing – while he shouted "I'll be right back!"

The others were enraptured by the sight of him in the sky, even if he didn't go very high for safety reasons. It made me yearn to shift into a bird so I could fly, or maybe even follow the dove's example and enjoy the bird bath, but I decide it's probably better to remain nearby in human form.

Bellamy's assistant shows up not long after Conner was on terra firma again, and she brings a mountain of boxes from Dunkin Donuts.

Dan and Sandy show up with Mr. Camp around eight. They try insist everyone go back inside, claiming safety, but Bellamy, seeing our clear reluctance to do so, steps up and argues for the medicinal benefit of fresh air and sunlight after being cooped up for so long.

Mason's pleading eyes in his father's directions might have helped tip the scales in our favor.

So we decide to wait outside to meet our benefactor. While the others run around and enjoy being outside and away from our torture chambers, I choose to sit on a bench with Bellamy. Dan sits alone on another bench, and I choose to ignore the irritation in his aura, not really having any idea what's causing it.

Sandy is running around with his camera again, but no one seems to mind, and Mr. Camp joins in a game of tag with Mason, Remy, Diego, Kitty, and Akemi.

Maybe his view on mutants is changing. We could use every ally available.

I notice first when the car pulls into the parking lot. Bellamy notices the direction of my gaze and pats my knee in reassurance. The fact that it actually reassures me says a lot about my opinion of her.

Alex makes his way to my side of the bench just as the others notice the car as it parks, and a tall man steps out from the driver's seat.


	14. Some Capable Protectors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some new mutants appear and claim to be protectors. Myka is wary.

It's a small four door sedan, which makes it easy to tell the man who exits the driver's seat is over six feet tall. He has reddish-brown hair cut short, and his sunglasses make him seem stern. He barely spares us a glance before going to the trunk of the car and popping it open. Meanwhile, a woman with dark skin and white hair gets out of the backseat. She sends a smile in our direction, but continues to wait for the other man.

I don't get the impression that either of them are our benefactor, but at least they don't seem like they mean us harm.

I'm surprised when the tall man pulls a wheelchair out of the trunk and goes around the car to the front passenger seat, and allows the man sitting there to maneuver into the wheelchair.

Recovering from my surprise, I look around at the pack. Whether they meant to or not, they've all drifted closer to Alex and I. Bellamy has remained sitting, and Sandy has finally put his camera away. He's standing on the fringes of our group next to Piotr. Mr. Camp is holding Mason's hand just to my left, and I can smell his anxiety.

Dan is the odd-man out. He's gotten up from his bench and is standing too far away from the group to even be considered on the fringes. A peek into his aura reveals some…disdain? Dislike, maybe?

This confuses me, but I don't have time to ponder his attitude today, because the man in the wheelchair begins making his way to us, leading the others.

Our benefactor, then.

He has brown hair to his shoulders, and his blue eyes appear kind. His aura shows me no malicious intent or thought. He wants to help, and he's excited to meet us, but there's also a little sadness. I think from seeing how many of us there actually are, and perhaps from recalling what we've been through.

The red-headed man's aura shows that he is sad, and there is some anger in there, too. If I'm not mistaken, it almost appears righteous. But there is a level of excitement for him, too, tinged with relief. On the edges of his aura, I catch flashes of worry, but it's too sporadic to try to connect it to anything else.

The woman with the white hair is still smiling at us, and it feels genuine. It soothes my prickly Alpha nature a bit, automatically making her someone I want to learn more about. Her aura is…clean, is a good word. She's not pure, per se, but she's a genuinely good person. She's mostly just excited and happy, presumably to be meeting us.

They all appear to be in their early 30's, and they're all well-dressed.

I try to take all of this in as they make their way through the parking lot, but my musings are interrupted when the reach the edge of the garden area.

" _Hello, young ones,"_ echoes in my head, in what I've come to recognize and think of as 'mind-speak.'

I can tell all the mutants have heard it, because the only ones who don't jump are Bellamy, Dan, Sandy, and Mr. Camp. But no one jumps too much. The mind-speak suddenly appearing in our heads is a normal occurrence with Erica and Emma around.

The main difference is this man's voice is, obviously, deeper than theirs, and he apparently has a British accent.

I briefly glance at Alex out of the corner of my eye, and he returns the look.

Definitely our benefactor, since he clearly has a mutation.

" _I am Professor Charles Xavier, and these are my friends Eric Lehnsherr and Ororo Munroe. We are all three, mutants."_ Comes the voice of the telepath, apparently named Charles.

After this declaration, they stop as one about five feet from the nearest mutant – who happens to be Remy – which makes them about ten feet from me. That's too far from me and too close to mine for my comfort.

All the kids are looking at me, clearly waiting for my move. Only Professor Xavier seems to have sussed out that they're looking at me; Eric and Ororo seem to be struggling. I appreciate that the professor is willing to let us have a moment to digest rather than bombard us with information.

I take a few steps forward to garner Eric and Ororo's attentions, since our benefactor is already paying attention. It also puts me closer to them, should they prove a danger to the mutants around me.

Though this is done more for caution than due to an instinct or a feeling that they might be dangerous.

Though they definitely are dangerous. While they wait patiently for my move, I take a moment to breathe through my nose and mouth, making use of all the information in the air to scent.

Ororo's scent is perhaps the most unique, especially since it's out of place on a sunny day. She smells like ozone, or the scent in the air right before it rains. It's strong, more like before a storm than just rain. But her face is kindly, and she's still offering the smile and nodding hello when she notices my attention on her specifically.

Eric's scent is slightly metallic, but not like the metallic edge of blood, it's almost sharper than that. It's only a thin layer right on the edge of his natural scent.

Charles's scent is the most normal. He just smells like a human being.

I feel my nose twitch in response to discovering I'm not fond of whatever cologne he is wearing; to my nose it is sharp yet overly saccharine.

" _I'll be sure to switch scents, next time, then."_ I hear in my head, without the echoing quality, so it must have been just to me.

I don't like that he's read my mind without permission.

" _Apologies. Your thought was very loud and clear, making it hard to tune out."_

A reasonable explanation, I suppose.

"My name is Myka Reynolds. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor." I say aloud, then turn to glance at Alex, who has followed me closer to the adult mutants. He seems to understand.

"I'm Alex Summers." He says with a nod.

"Adelaide." Says the she-wolf, sidling up to my left.

"Remy."

"Blair –" then " – Bonnie."

"Diego."

"Piotr." Comes the deep voice of the Russian boy.

"Sofia."

"Samuel."

"Anna-Marie, pleasure." She says as she raises a gloved hand to brush hair out of her face.

"Emma," she supplies loud, _"I'm glad to finally meet you."_ She provides telepathically to everyone.

"Erica, _and ditto,"_ follows close behind, following Emma's lead.

"Conner," he supplies with a slightly self-conscious wave.

"Katherine-Anne, but I prefer Kitty."

"I'm Sean," he says from behind me, and there's a note of challenge in his voice. I notice it makes Eric bristle a bit.

"Akemi," is provided quietly, but it's enough to stop the brief stare down between Eric and Sean.

"I am Kurt, sir." He says while his blue tail swishes back and forth.

"Kenna." She says, smiling lightly back at Ororo.

"Roshon, but call me Hank." The professor nods.

"Sooraya, but you can call me Raya, if you prefer." But the professor doesn't leave it there, and speaks for the first time since the introductions start.

"Which would you prefer?"

She takes a moment to consider.

"For now, Sooraya, if you please."

He nods sagely, "Sooraya it is then."

"I'm Mason!" Come an excited voice from behind me, then suddenly he's running past me, right up to Professor Xavier, despite his father's distressed noises.

Professor Xavier leans forward toward Mason.

"Well, I am very happy to meet you, Mason. This is your father?" He asks with a smile, as Mr. Camp places his hands on Mason's shoulders protectively.

"Yup! He came yesterday to get us! I didn't like that place at all." Mason tells him.

The sadness in the professor's aura swirls faster for a moment before settling down again.

"Then it's a very good thing he came to get you," he says to Mason, then looks up to Mr. Camp.

"Sir, I am very glad to meet you as well. I have introduced myself to the young ones telepathically already, but my name is Professor Charles Xavier. These are my colleagues," he ends, gesturing beside him.

"Eric Lehnsherr," the red-haired man says with a slight accent. German, I'm pretty sure.

"Ororo Munroe, it's a pleasure," says the woman with white hair, again with an accent though slightly harder for me to place. Perhaps African?

Mr. Camp just nods politely, though anyone with eyes could see he's uncomfortable. Thankfully, Dr. Wu decides to rescue him by walking over to introduce herself.

"Professor Xavier, I'm Dr. Bellamy Wu. We spoke on the phone."

"Ah, yes, Doctor. It is a pleasure to meet you in person. I do thank you, wholeheartedly, for agreeing to assist me in these matters."

"It was the right thing to do. There was only one option."

"I wish the rest of the world saw it that way. You have interest in learning more about the mutant gene, correct?"

"Yes, it is why I went into the medical field in the first place."

"Then I have an offer for you. Perhaps you would be interested in seeing everyone again, once everything has settled down. Our own doctor, a geneticist, would love to share what she knows and perhaps conduct research with you, should you so desire."

I don't know that I've seen this much unguarded emotion on Bellamy's face since we arrived here. Her aura shows she's clearly intrigued and excited. I find it strange this manifests in tears as she accepts.

Though, knowing what I do about her childhood friend, I suppose she feels like she's finally doing what she set out to.

Professor Xavier turns to address Mr. Camp with his next statement.

"I'm afraid the government is insisting all the children accompany me to our agreed upon location, and remain there without visitors for a bit. And I also regret to inform you that we must be getting to the airport soon to begin our travels. Here's my card – " he pauses to hand Mr. Camp and Dr. Wu each a card, "call me in a couple of days and we'll set up communication avenues until such a time that you can visit, or Mason can go home."

Mr. Camp picks Mason up and hold him close.

"For now, take your time saying goodbye. I know this will be difficult."

Professor Xavier turns away and this time moves his wheelchair toward Dan.

I notice Sandy has gravitated over to Dan, but I can't recall noticing him move.

"Dan and Sandy, I presume? It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Professor Xavier says, nearly over the top politely.

I know I just met them, but it seems to me he's laying it on a little thick. I also notice Ororo's smile loses its luster, while Eric scowls a bit.

Strangely, Dan doesn't seem terribly interested in discussion with the professor, despite promising me last night that he wouldn't just let us go again. I suddenly don't care why Dan is irritated, mostly because he's irritating me with his strange behavior.

I so do not need this right now.

"Take care of them, or you'll answer to me." Is Dan's only response, before turning and walking into the clinic. A confused Sandy seems unsure of what to do, glancing back and forth between Dan and me.

I shrug. Reading minds isn't my thing.

I'm just relieved when I glance over my shoulder and see no one's paying any attention to Dan's retreating back, so they probably didn't hear how easily he walked away from us.

Suddenly, arms are thrown around me, and I hug Sandy back. Just because Dan's acting strange doesn't mean Sandy's attitude has shifted.

"Here," Sandy starts, pulling away from me, "contact me when you can and let me know how to keep you updated on the MDA. Also, just to keep in touch. I want us to be friends."

His expression is so genuine when he hands me a piece of paper with a phone number on it, I know that whatever is affecting Dan hasn't messed with my friend in Sandy.

I smile as I take it, "We already are," I assure him.

His smile widens, if that's even possible.

"Have fun, relax, and try to stay out of trouble," he says, hugging me again.

"You too, Sandy. Goodbye for now."

"Yeah, I like that. Goodbye for now, Myka!"

Then he's turning to go into the clinic, presumably after Dan.

"He seems to be a good kid," comments Eric, which is the most amount of words I've heard him speak yet.

"Yes, very friendly," Ororo agrees.

I nod. "He helped me remember something at the lab."

They look a little shocked at the casual reference. Except the professor.

"And what was that?" He asks me.

I turn to look at him.

"That a little hope goes a long way."

I turn to go back to my pack, and catch a glimpse of Alex's face, a stony expression on it as he looks to the door where Dan and Sandy disappeared.

Maybe someone did see Dan's retreat after all.

I turn back to the professor.

"Can we go now?"

[]

We leave on the same bus we arrived on, as soon as the bus driver appears. We wave goodbye to Dr. Wu, while Mr. Camp ends up accompanying us to the airport.

I'm told the flight will be roughly an hour and a half, once we board. We're heading to Westchester, New York.


	15. It's Not Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack are in a new place. It's not home, but it's supposed to be safe.

I wake up and find myself surprised I slept at all.

After the overnight stay at the clinic I was able to stay awake for the flight. Some of the kids had never been in a plane before. Connor was helpful there, explaining the mechanics of flight, although that didn't seem to help Mason much. He sat on my lap the whole flight, though I suppose part of that could have been the emotional distress of having to say goodbye to his dad so soon after being rescued. It was a scene on the tarmac at the airport: Mason, his father, the professor, Erik, and myself all trying to convince Mason that everything was going to be fine. His father was barely holding back tears as he tried to calm Mason down, but I could see it wasn't helping. The professor surely could have helped more with his telepathy, but I suppose that's no way to start a relationship with already traumatized children.

Although, I guess he also could have been reluctant to enter the mind of a seven year old whose out loud voice was already deafening.

In the end it took me using the Alpha voice on Mason when he began rattling the plane. I wasn't sure it would work, but I guess a seven year old is still pretty impressionable. He stopped wailing, though the tears continued. Professor Xavier put his arms out and Mason surprisingly crawled onto his lap.

Erik and I had a small stare-down before he nodded and used his ability – apparently he can control metal – to lift the professor's wheelchair up and into the plane, Mason and all. Erik followed them up. I had something to say to Mason's father.

[]

" _You didn't have to come for us. Thank you."_

_He looks surprised for a moment. "I did. They had my son."_

_I shake my head. "I can tell you're not comfortable with all of us. You could have taken Mason and left the rest of us. Instead you saved all of us. I won't forget that."_

_He shook my hand when I offered it._

[]

He didn't even hesitate to shake my hand, and the memory makes me smile considering he would have shuddered at the thought a mere 24 hours earlier.

The drive to our destination in Westchester was short enough and I hadn't been tired. Our destination ended up being Professor Xavier's house. He called it a house. I would say mansion is more accurate. My guess is he wants it to feel homey for us, and if he intends to start housing mutants in need then his house better be big with lots of land.

It also turns out he comes from money, as though the mansion wasn't indication enough.

When we first arrived yesterday, the mansion was overwhelming, and I could see through the windows that the land out back was expansive. We spent most of the day learning the maze indoors, setting up our rooms, and recovering.

Immediately upon entering the house I watched as all the other's heads swiveled around in cartoonish fashion at "our new home."

Professor Xavier's words, not mine.

We were led to a large room with all the furniture pushed to the walls, and scattered in the room was piles of stuff. It turned out to be our stuff, gathered from our homes, or recovered from the lab that was confiscated from us when we were abducted.

I didn't really want to know how they got this stuff, so I didn't ask, and I was relieved the others seemed to follow my lead. Instead I focused on the calm having my own things brought in an unfamiliar environment. One of the boxes had my really soft blankets and my favorite blanket – the one I've had since I was a baby. It's a little raggedy, but considering the situation I now find myself in, I'm not worried about being so attached to it.

Laying in the bed that's been given to me, in a room of my own, I clutch the blanket a little tighter and think that maybe it's the reason I was able to sleep last night.

After deciding what stuff we wanted to keep here, the professor told us to pick our rooms. He smiled as he said it, but I don't think we provided the reaction he was looking for since he kind of awkwardly cleared his throat and turned himself around to go down the hallway. He rolled himself to a large and rather ornate staircase where Erik nonchalantly floated him up.

He explained that he would normally not ask Erik to do this and would instead take the elevator he had installed, but this time was for the sake of convenience. We wouldn't all fit in the elevator at once.

Only three steps up Mason pouted and lifted his arms in front of me in the universal signal for 'pick me up.' Seven year olds aren't light, but luckily my mutation makes me stronger than I look.

Though my sudden exhaustion was a pretty good equalizer.

At the top of the third floor staircase we were faced with a long hallway with open doors all down both sides. Professor Xavier gestured outwards and told us to pick any room in the hallway. He asked that we at least double up, so we had room for others in the future.

The girls started down the right side, and the boys the left. I put Mason down so he could have a choice in his room.

They decided to share rooms as I watched, pleased with the lack of chaos. Kenna and Raya decide to share a larger room and pull Sofia in with them, and Blair and Bonnie pair up which isn't surprising considering they're twins. Akemi and Kitty. Emma and Erica – and I wondered briefly if it was a good idea for two telepaths to share a room, but I let it go. Adelaide and Anna-Marie chose to share a room, and that kind of surprised me since they seem to be very different people, but I figure they'll work it out.

Mason ended up rooming with Sam and Diego in a room with a bunk bed set. I made a mental note to check on them later, but Mason looked so excited, finally, that I decided not to say anything. Hank and Piotr pair up, followed by Remy and Sean, which might the scariest pairing I had ever contemplated. Kurt politely asked to room by himself and found a room to his liking further down the hallway. I guess since he spent so long alone he needs the space to decompress. Alex and Conner take the first room on the left, right across from the room left empty by the girls on the right. It's right at the top of the staircase, and where I would have chosen to room if I hadn't decided to let the others choose first.

I was busy in my thoughts and didn't notice when Emma approached me and let me know that they had discussed it telepathically, and they thought I should have a room to myself after everything I had done to protect them. She gestured to the empty room.

It takes me a second too long to process her words, and everyone's smiles falter. I recovered quickly and thanked them. And we moved on. Everyone checked out their rooms and put some of their stuff away to make it seem like their own. I dragged a couple boxes of my clothes – again, not really wanting to know who collected it – into my room and sat on the end of the bed while I listened to the others through the walls.

I refused to be upset about what should have been a nice thought. They wanted to give me privacy. I should be thankful. But I can't let go of the feeling that I've been sequestered from the others. I couldn't decide if I felt like that because I wasn't right there in the room to protect them, or if I was worried they had decided I was more monstrous than they wanted to deal with.

Even now, the next morning, as I lay in the silent room alone I can't decide why I still feel this way. It was clearly meant as a kind gesture.

Lunch followed and was uneventful. Some sandwiches, though I don't know where they came from. Some kids decided to take a nap after. Some decorated. Some wandered the halls. I found Professor Xavier in his office.

[]

" _Dr. Ratley wasn't there when it was raided." I say when I step into his office, though it wasn't really what I had planned on saying._

_I don't know what I wanted to say._

_Professor Xavier looks up from his laptop and closes it._

" _No, he wasn't."_

" _Do you know where he is?"_

" _I don't."_

_I don't know what to say to that so I stay silent as the professor looks at me._

" _Do you want him found?" he asks, finally._

_I open my mouth to answer, but then I hesitate. I honestly don't know. To pay for his crimes? Yeah. But would that mean seeing his face again?_

" _Neither was Michaels," is what I say instead._

" _I know."_

_We look at each other a moment before I nod and turn to walk out, still unsure about what I wanted in the first place._

" _They can't reach you here," the professor says from behind me._

_It's enough to make me stop and turn back with a question evidently plain on my face._

" _No one will harm you here. I have measures in place to ensure it."_

_I just nod and continue out of the office. I feel a little lighter. Maybe I was looking for some reassurance._

_I pass Erik and Ororo on my way out. They smile and nod, but I barely respond._

_I wanted reassurance, but I'm still holding on to some reservations._

[]

Dinner that night was as unassuming as lunch. Some stew Ororo apparently made. It was pretty good, but it made me miss my dad's beef stew and that made my heart hurt more than I was willing to admit, so I ate as much as I could stomach.

Professor Xavier told us that there was another professor we hadn't met yet, but she was always busy in her lab and we would see her a breakfast the next morning. There was also already a mutant living at the mansion and we would meet him the next day as well.

I honestly just wanted to sleep, but I found that I couldn't alone in my silent room. Instead I opened the window of my room and took flight as an eagle into the night sky.

I don't know how long I flew and ran and explored the grounds outside, but when I finally returned I saw a light on in the second floor with a silhouette low to the ground behind the curtain. The light went off as I flew back to my open window, and as I finally collapsed in exhaustion there was a brief whisper in my mind wishing me a good night.

Waking up to sunshine streaming through my window meant I hadn't dreamed the last few days, and this mansion was unbelievably real.

Finally, I sit up to find out what today holds.


	16. What's a Mutant Name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even more new people. Including a potential new mentor for Myka with his own traumas not dissimilar from the pack's.

After reassuring myself that the past few days were real, I decide it's time to roll out of bed even though I went to sleep late and I don't hear anyone else moving around.

If waking up early is a new thing for me, I'm gonna be bitter. I love sleeping in.

The first thing I do is head down the hallway to the nearest bathroom. It looks as though the professor has had a room or two outfitted for communal bathrooms, like a dorm room. It actually kind of looks like the shower room from the lab but it feels different so I suppress my shudder.

I suppose there's only so many ways to design communal showers.

At least there's a plethora of soaps to choose from. I grab some shampoo and conditioner, and find some coconut scented body wash.

After my shower, I dress in my own clothes I pulled from my boxes of stuff. One pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a white tank top, and one pair of Adidas sneakers later and I feel more like myself since the charity event six weeks ago.

It feels like a lifetime.

A glance at a clock on my way downstairs tells me it's only 8:30 in the morning, and I'm not surprised none of the others are awake yet, except for Adelaide who looked more like she was sleep walking as she used the restroom and headed straight back to her room. Everyone has a lot of recuperating left to do.

After I reach the second floor landing, I begin to hear murmurs at the same time the scent of coffee reaches my nose and I follow it to the large kitchen.

I see Professor Xavier sitting with Erik and Ororo but there are others I don't know. They stop speaking when I get close enough to make out the words, but I can see an undercurrent of tension in their auras.

"Good morning, Myka. Did you sleep well?" the professor asks me, smiling brightly.

"Well enough," I answer, not looking at him but at the others I don't know. There are four of them, but one of them is sitting apart from the others, and he's the one staring most intently at me.

"Ah," the professor starts, "Myka, please allow me to introduce you to three of our other teachers here. Here is Jean Grey," the redheaded woman nods and murmurs hello, "and sitting beside her is Scott Myers," and this man has a pair of dark red glasses on even though we're indoors. I shift through some animal visions before settling on snake eyes that let me see a faint red glow even through the strange lenses. It disappears and reappears quickly, making me think it happens as he blinks.

I settle back into human eyesight and notice some strange looks, then I realize I unconsciously shifted closer to see better and they all probably had a great view of my eyes shifting.

"See anything interesting?" Scott asks with a slight smirk, and I'm glad I haven't offended him.

"That's so fascinating," says the other woman I haven't been introduced to yet. An African American woman with a coffee cup in front of her at least three times the size of the others, but she's abandoned it in favor of scribbling in a notebook even as she stares at me.

I purse my lips and move over to the coffee pot, then to the cream and sugar in front of the woman who is still watching me. I take the opportunity to scan her notebook.

"My last name is Reynolds," I say, noticing the question marks scribbled next to my first name by a note about my eyes selectively changing.

"Huh?"

I point to the questions marks while sitting on the stool next to her. "Reynolds. Surely the news has said it again and again."

She smiles a little ruefully, "Ah, yes, but I'm not always very good at remembering names, among other things." She sticks her hand out, "I'm Gabriella McCoy. Call me Gabby."

I take her hand. "Shouldn't it be Professor Gabby?"

"Well, I'm actually here to help with other things, not so much to teach you."

I raise an eyebrow at Professor Xavier who hasn't said much.

"Charles asked her to help us learn more about your mutations," Erik supplies, earning an immediate _look_ from the professor. And I know why.

"No more experiments," I tell them firmly, with just a little growl behind the words so they know I'm serious.

Everyone starts at once: "We need to—" "Well it won't be like—" "Of course you'll be—" "Sweetheart we don't want—" "It's important to—"

But they're cut off by the deeper voice of the man I still haven't met.

"That's why I came."

I look at him, waiting for clarification. If they tell me it's not an option, that it's a condition of staying here, I will gladly fight them all and then get my pack the hell out of here. I promised no more forced experiments, and I'm not willing to just lie down for anyone claiming to be a scientist anymore.

It doesn't seem as though the man with strange hair wants to elaborate though – seriously it sticks up a little on both sides, sort of pointy-ish. We sit, staring, and I can see there's something animalistic about him in his aura. We're well matched in stubbornness and now I think maybe he was the cause of the tension when I first walked in – he is the one sitting farther from the others.

Still, neither of us says anything.

"What does that mean?" Alex asks from the doorway.

I heard him walking down the stairs, so I don't start when he appears, but the others do, including the stranger I'm currently staring down. He looks away in his surprise, only for a second, but it's long enough to satisfy the animal side of my nature, and the tension dissipates just like that.

He frowns hard at me while I take a sip of my coffee to hide my smirk. I won.

Professor Xavier seems somewhat amused, but he doesn't comment on it, instead deciding to take over introductions again.

"Myka, Alex, this is Logan Howlett. I asked him to join us here a few weeks ago. This morning, he decided to take me up on the invitation."

He nods his head and grunts at us, choosing to drink his coffee rather than be sociable.

The professor introduces Alex to the others I've already met, and I decide it's time to revisit the experiment issue. But rather than ask the others, I get the feeling I'll get a straight answer from Logan.

"What did you mean, when you said that's why you were here? When they were trying to convince me experiments would be fine?"

The others open their mouths to comment again, but Professor Xavier stops them with a wave of his hand. Alex evidently heard that part, because he doesn't comment either, but rather stands next to me looking at Logan.

He sighs before answering.

"I know what it's like to be experimented on. I decided it was worth it to stick around long enough to see you all for myself."

I stare at him.

"You want to what? Make sure we're comfortable? Advocate for us?" I ask with only a small amount of disbelief.

I think Charles hides a laugh with a cough, but I don't know him well enough yet to be sure.

"Well I wasn't going to use those words," Logan mumbles, clearly a little uncomfortable, "but also to annoy One-Eye over there."

"Cyclops, Logan. Call me One-Eye one more time and you'll get another demonstration of what I can do," Scott says, rising slightly out of his chair before Jean puts a hand on his arm and shoots Logan a scathing look that makes him grin wider.

"Cyclops?" Alex asks, looking confused.

"Is that your mutant name?" I ask, less confused than Alex.

"Yes." Scott, Cyclops, answers curtly, still glaring at Logan who's now happily sipping his coffee.

"Well that's…neat." Alex finally answers, still looking confused, making me laugh. Which makes me realize how long it's been since I laughed.

"Mutant name?" Alex asks, looking to me, but smiling now through his confusion, and settling on the stool between myself and Professor Xavier.

"I learned about it through an underground mutant club in Orlando. I made the mistake of going to a theme park with my roommates and had a minor freakout. I managed to get away, but an employee had noticed and figured out what caused it since they were also a mutant. It was at Universal and they told me about this place I could go certain nights of the month at City Walk and meet other mutants. So I did. I was so alone, I figured what could it hurt? Someone introduced themselves by their 'mutant name.' We never used real names." I explained, suddenly wondering if someone had found me through that? But I shake it off.

"What name did you use?" Gabby asks me, but I just shake my head. It's not something I would want to use regularly now, if it's something we do here.

"Well I go by Bolt. I'm a technopath, and I can create small electric bolts." She tells me.

"You already know I'm Cyclops."

"I chose Phoenix a long time ago." Jean supplies.

"Storm," Ororo says with a nod.

I look at Logan and he sighs. "Wolverine, when I have to give one."

I raise my eyebrows. "I heard that name at City Walk. You're kind of a legend." I say, making him mumble unintelligibly into his coffee.

"Magneto," Erik says, and I whip my head around to look at him so quickly I startle Alex.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

"I take it you've heard of him?" Alex asks, but I can tell it's rhetorical, and now he's assessing Erik like he's a threat, based on my reaction.

Erik looks coolly back at him before turning his attention back to me.

"Yes, Magneto, supposedly Charles' enemy." He says nonchalantly.

I finally close my mouth again and stare back.

"Then why are you here? Last I heard, you were trying to convince mutants to join you in some kind of rebellion. I even saw a video someone had of a speech you were giving."

Everyone is glancing back and forth between us as I remember everything he said he wanted to do in the video.

"If you're here to convince us to join you, or conscript us or whatever, I won't speak for the other kids, but I definitely have no interest in joining you and I plan on strongly advising against the others doing so." I tell him, with my heart rate elevating as I think about the view he had on humans.

I don't hate humans. I hate that they fear us, but I still have hope we can change that.

"That's not why I'm here. That _was_ my ideology, but things changed. I changed, after a downward spiral no one could stop, and some help from an old friend," at which point he turns to look at Charles who is actually staring at me, fingers to his temple.

Looking at him makes me aware of a weird niggling sensation in the back of my mind…

I stand abruptly, knocking over my stool.

"Get out of my head," I growl, knowing my eyes have shifted.

A lot of things happen at once.

Alex moves to stand between the professor and me, while Erik moves into a defensive position in front of Charles, and Ororo stands behind him. Scott pulls Jean back from the table and behind him, while Gabby grabs her notebook and starts furiously scribbling even as she manages to take her coffee cup with her. Logan doesn't bother moving, but as my adrenalin kicks up a notch, I'm aware of him tensing in readiness. All the movements and the sudden tension isn't letting me calm down, either.

" _You're all tangled up inside. So many emotions and thoughts pulling you in two,"_ I hear inside my head, even as he speaks aloud, _"I'm here to listen if you want."_

"You mean you're here to invade my mind," I barely manage to growl out knowing that if I lose even a little more control things could get bad really fast.

But his words don't help in the slightest, even though a part of me is whispering a reminder that he just wants to help. The rest of me doesn't want to listen.

Unbidden, my mind starts pulling forward everything that's happened in the last six weeks, and all my reasons to hate humans and their fear, mixed with memories of friends and family who gave me hope for the future, as well as the times they made me fear them just a little. Then I start thinking about how some have reacted to their fear, and I start focusing on Michaels, which makes the negative memories start to seem so much larger in comparison.

The room suddenly feels smaller, and I vaguely notice Erik has since forced Alex to move away from me and behind him, and I think I can hear myself growling louder, but really all I can hear is the sounds Michaels would make and suddenly I'm on the floor curling into myself while I try desperately not to change in the middle of this kitchen because I'm worried I'll lose control like I did at the lab and end up covered in blood that isn't my own.

Charles' voice in my head is barely there, and it's fading faster as I can feel my animal nature taking control.

Until suddenly I'm being lifted and carried, and I know I should fight back because I shouldn't let myself willingly be taken anywhere by Michaels, but it wasn't willingly, not really, and I know it's important to remember that, but suddenly my whole body hurts like it did at the lab, but maybe it's actually because I'm changing and I hope and hope and _hope_ that I don't hurt anyone in the kitchen but I probably will because inside I'm actually –

The thoughts cut off as I'm suddenly in mid-air and then…underwater?

I was thrown into a pool?

I take a second to process that before realizing I didn't take a deep breath first and I'm now underwater.

I kick off from the bottom and take a couple of gasping breaths before turning my attention to Logan, who's standing at the edge with his arms crossed, watching me.

"You threw me in the pool?" I ask dumbly, still trying to process that.

He just shrugs, as Professor Xavier rolls out onto the patio, waving a hand to keep the others inside, though I hear Alex fight it for a moment.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to cause you distress," Professor Xavier apologizes, and I can see in his aura that he means it. I don't want to think about the…episode because it makes me remember the fear I felt in the room as I panicked.

Although maybe that was my own fear I was sensing.

I look between Logan and the professor and burst out laughing, still treading water in the deep end. It's kind of cold, so I swim to the edge and haul myself out of the water, still chuckling to myself.

I don't remember the last time I was tossed into a pool. Did my dad throw me in? Or did my sister push me? Both are distinct possibilities.

Ororo walks out with a large towel and hands it to me. I dry my face and then look up at Logan again.

"What if I had lashed out and hurt you?"

He looks at me. "I would heal."

"But what if I had seriously injured you? Or done something fatal?"

He regards me for a moment.

"I was born in 1888," he casually throws out, making my jaw drop, "I heal near instantly from anything."

"Anything?" Alex asks as he walks onto the patio.

"I am extremely hard to kill."

"It makes him a good instructor as we begin to figure out what you all can do. The chances of one of you being able to permanently harm him are practically nonexistent." Jean states, sitting on a lounge chair with the remainder of her coffee.

I just nod, not ready to go back to that discussion.

"Myka, Alex, I think it would be good for you both to tell us everything you can before the others wake up. That way we'll better prepared to help them if they need us," Jean says in a kind tone, and she's got a kind of motherly vibe around her, so I stay calm.

We nod, and the other professors find their own seating while I stay on the edge of the pool and Alex sits next to me. They all still have their coffees, making me wish I could go inside for mine, but I'm currently soaking wet.

Then Scott hands me my coffee cup with a smile, and sits down next to Jean, throwing his arm over her shoulders.

It's a small gesture, but it makes me feel better that I haven't made a terrible first impression despite the very recent episode.

So we begin our tale. I start with finding my own wanted poster, basically, but it being too late. Alex jumps in when he noticed something I didn't, or he had a different take on something.

I clench my fists hard when I talk about what happened to Conner and how I reacted. Then my emotions start to get the best of me when I try to explain why I was in a separate room when Sandy found me.

That's when I throw Alex a desperate look and voluntarily throw myself back into the pool when I start shaking. I can hear murmuring as I sit at the bottom. This time I prepared by taking a deep breath, and I stay under until the angry murmuring stops and my lungs scream for air.

I could have changed to something that could breathe underwater, but I didn't feel like going through the effort.

When I reemerge, we're ready to move on to the end of the story.

After we finish there's a lot of anger and sadness and determination in the auras swirling around me. It's comforting in the sense that now I feel better with tangible – to me – proof that we're not alone anymore. But I'm ready to move past the pity party and my stomach backs me up by growling loudly.

When we go back inside it's 10:00 and still no one has emerged.

"How about pancakes, bacon, and eggs to wake everyone up?" Professor Xavier asks, and my stomach growls again in agreement.

I freakin' love pancakes.


	17. It's Not the Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myka tries to trust these people.

It doesn't take long for everyone else to awaken to the scent of food, even on a different story of the mansion. It's after introductions to everyone and mid-breakfast that Scott, who apparently has some law education, casually mentions that there's a possibility of repercussions for my loss of control at the labs, but…

"But based on what you told us, I think there's a very real possibility that nothing will happen to you," Scott says, with a mouthful of food that is very reassuring.

_Not._

"You told them about the lab?" Adelaide asks, looking at me in shock with her pancake laden fork halfway to her mouth.

I almost shrug and go back to my scrambled eggs, not really wanting to talk about it again, but then I realize all the other kids are also looking at me, some with an ashen pallor. I put my fork down.

"I told you before that I wouldn't let anyone experiment on us anymore. I promised you that no one would be allowed to hurt us again," I see Kenna nodding and recall our conversation on the bus to the clinic.

"I trust these people, and I think we should give them a chance to help us," and I can tell the statement surprises everyone at the table, except Alex who of course has been privy to the entire morning. But the adults seem pleased and leave the others to their thoughts.

I do have a thought that I quickly shove away before the professor can catch it, but a glance at him out of the corner of my eye makes me think he's kept to his promise from earlier and is staying out of my head.

" _Are you sure?"_ comes from Emma, and there's no echo, so it's just to me.

The professor doesn't visibly react, and everyone else has gone back to their food as they contemplate what I've said. I take another bite.

" _Can the professor hear us?"_

" _I don't think so. Erica and I have been practicing a little ever since we learned he was telepath. We've been trying to figure out how to keep other telepaths out of our heads even when we're projecting."_

" _And you've made progress?"_

" _Yes,"_ she answers, _"we get someone to sit with us and we have a mental conversation while trying to keep the other telepath out, even as they try to break-in. Now answer my question."_

I sigh, and the thought I had earlier seems the best answer to her doubt.

" _I think they're worth sticking with for now,"_ I start, _"but I want you to pass to the others that if they have concerns or doubts to come talk to me about it. If we decide we don't want to stay here, we'll do our best to figure something out."_

Emma looks contemplative for a moment.

" _Do you really think they would just let us leave?"_

I consider her question, and glance at Logan as he devours his third stack of pancakes. And I thought I could put food away.

" _I think we have at least one ally here who would help us out. Tell the others they can talk to me and do it individually. I'm not sure if talking to one individual versus many changes the ability of another telepath to break-in."_

Emma nods and I observe a couple of the kids jump as she interrupts their thoughts. I notice the professor also catches it, and a peek into his aura shows frustrated curiosity. Either Emma really is keeping him out, or he's decided to stay out of everyone's thoughts for the morning.

" _Logan isn't your only ally, if you wanted to leave."_ Another voice appears in my head, startling me enough that I choke a bit on my bacon and quickly swallow some water.

The voice sounds like Jean Grey.

" _We don't want to keep you here against your will. If you really wanted to leave we would help orchestrate that for you so you wouldn't be on the run from the government who is insisting you remain here for a bit."_

She hasn't given any indication that she's using mind-speak, and none of the other telepaths in the room seem to have noticed either.

But I guess since I don't know all the teacher's abilities there could be more telepaths than I thought.

Though I also would have assumed Xavier was the most powerful telepath but he didn't seem to notice, and I think he definitely felt something while Emma and I spoke.

"So what can you all do?" I hear myself asking.

My pack, who all seem to have settled since Emma spoke to them, continues to eat, but looks up at the professors in curiosity.

Jean speaks first, "I'm telekinetic and have a slight ability for telepathy."

The bit at the end kind of sounds like a lie, to me, like she doesn't quite believe that.

"But my main role here is as a teacher and a geneticist."

Diego rolls his eyes and mutters _"another scientist"_ but someone, I think Emma, kicks him under the table causing an annoyed grunt.

"Optic-force blasts," Scott provides, after throwing a reproachful look at Diego, which I'm sure will not cause issues in the future, at _all_.

"Come again?" Sean asks, mouth full of bacon.

"He shoots laser beams out of his eyes," Erik says with mirth, cutting of Scott's explanation, which I'm sure would have sounded more dignified and scientific.

"Lit," Diego nods approvingly.

Scott looks a little confused but also pleased.

Maybe they won't have issues after all. That would make my life easier.

"And you?" Anna-Maria asks, gesturing with her fork at Erik.

"I control metal," he says simply, but I feel like there's more to it. Still, I don't push for more information.

"I can control the weather," Ororo says in her calming tones.

"I'm a technopath," Gabby informs everyone, and I'm amused to note that she's finally not scribbling in her notebook and is instead intently focused on finishing her breakfast.

I look to Logan next to her, and raise an eyebrow when we make eye contact. He sighs.

"Good senses, I heal quickly, and I can do this," he says monotone while raising his right fist.

Where three long blades suddenly sprout from between his knuckles, eliciting gasps from around the table.

"Does that hurt?" comes a small voice from my left, and I look to Mason who's sitting between Alex and me. His eyes are wide his mouth hangs open.

Logan looks at him for a few seconds before responding.

"Not so much anymore."

The implication that it used to doesn't pass me by, and I'm also not convinced something like that could ever stop hurting. I literally just watched his skin split so his skeleton could grow. But he clearly doesn't want to linger on his mutations.

I finally turn to Professor Xavier.

"And we know you're a telepath. Any other abilities?"

He chuckles, "None. I do have some tricks that are based in my telepathy, though."

Which doesn't leave me curious. At all.

"Come on, Charles, don't be shy." Erik says grinning while Charles tries to shrug him off.

Erik turns back to us, "Charles is the strongest telepath there is. Those 'tricks' he mentioned include making people freeze in place, as well as entire rooms of people, and speaking through them."

I barely manage to suppress a shudder, and the urge to let my mouth hang open, at the realization that this telepath could literally make us all his pawns. A glance around the table shows me not everyone has managed to control their reactions. After everything we went through at the lab, no one is excited at the thought we could all be forced to do things against our will.

Erik's grin falls as he finally takes in the expressions around the table and figures out where everyone's thoughts have gone. He clears his throat while Charles tries to smile reassuringly.

"I would never cause someone to do something that was wholly against their will."

That statement still has too much leeway for my comfort, and I find myself considering the Professor warily.

"Professor X is a good guy, and he only wants the best for all of you. He's not going to take away your free will," Scott says, with a smile that actually does manage to be reassuring. His aura says he believes this with his whole being.

"Professor X?" Kenna finally asks, probably to change the subject.

"Oh, is that your mutant name?" Alex asks.

I'm probably the only who notices he feels a little smug that others seem to be confused about what a mutant name is, but I keep it to myself, hiding my smile with another sip from my orange juice.

"Well, I didn't choose it, but yes, that is the name I sometimes go by," Charles says, with only a mild amount of discomfort.

Then we have to explain to those who don't know what a mutant name is, and the professors tell the others theirs.

"So who chooses them?" Remy asks.

"It depends. You can choose your own, or maybe someone calls you something that you like, and you can pick that. Usually it has something to do with your mutation or it's unique to you in some way." Jean answers.

Remy hums, deep in thought.

"Do we have to pick one?" Sofia wants to know, and this time Ororo answers.

"No, sweetheart, you don't have to choose a mutant name."

"But if we want one, do we have to pick now?"

Ororo smiles warmly, "No, you don't have to pick one right now. It might even be better to wait until after you've been practicing with your abilities more and have control."

There's a collective inhalation around the table as we consider what practicing might look like, and the adults notice.

"I don't want you to worry about this," the professor starts, "I do believe it is important to learn to control yourselves, but it will be more like training in a gym than experiments in a lab. We won't force you do that."

"Though it might help you learn control if you better understand how your mutations work," Gabby says, having finished her breakfast.

"That's why I'm here. Jean and I can help you figure out how it works and why, we can do our best to help you figure out whatever you want to know. And I want to be clear that any testing is completely voluntary, and I have not forgone my Hippocratic Oath as a scientist or doctor." She says firmly, with an accompanying nod from Jean.

I believe her. And I wouldn't mind better understanding my mutation through properly conducted experiments. I can tell the others are still unsure though, including Alex. Conner's pulse has skyrocketed.

"I'd like to go first, if that's alright," I say into the uneasy silence, surprising just about everyone.

By saying 'first' I hope to make it seem logical that everyone will do it. I know it's likely some will refuse, but if it helps us get control, then we'll be better able to protect ourselves in the future. The best thing I can do to keep my pack is safe is teach them how to keep themselves and others safe.

"We can test first together," Alex says, which also surprises everyone, including me.

He looks at me, and while his expression is neutral, I can see in his eyes that he caught my intentional phrasing, and he's supporting it. If he had to take a fortifying breath before volunteering, well, no one could really hold that against him after the lab.

Thinking about the lab reminds me –

"Oh, remember the serum I told you about? That they developed?" I ask the adults who nod, wondering where I'm going with this while some of the others tense.

"Alex and I weren't the only ones they tested it on. I think it had to be developed from our specific DNA but it felt different to each of us." I tell them, looking to those who felt it to explain. It feels important.

I decide to start, because I want to get the trip down memory lane over with.

"To me it felt like I was being clawed repeatedly by animals, over my entire body."

Alex sighs and contributes, "It felt like my skin was on fire."

I can tell Conner doesn't want to remember, so he says it fast, "LikethatonetimeIflewtoohighandgotreallylight-headedandcouldn'tstayintheair."

Piotr, who has been sitting quietly next to Adelaide and methodically working his way through more food than Logan and me combined, says, "I felt like my skin was stiff, and my insides, too." Then goes back to his pancakes. Sort of.

"Hey," I ask Piotr, "do you want any pancakes with your syrup?" I'm smiling, and the others laugh too after seeing his plate is mostly a puddle of syrup.

He laughs good-naturedly and grabs another pancake from the stack in front of him.

"It sounds like your reactions to the serum differed based on your mutations," Gabby mutters, having missed the joke since she's once again scribbling furiously in her notebook.

Idly, I wonder how many of those she goes through in a single day.

"You said they only work for a minute?" Erik asks, clenching his fists.

"Yeah," Alex replies, "but we made them think it didn't wear off for hours. We're pretty sure they bought it."

Erik nods.

"That's good," Scott says, "it gives us an advantage later."

The way he says it has me tilting my head at him.

Jean catches my curiosity and smiles, "Scott is also a gifted tactician, probably somewhat naturally, with potentially a boost from a mutation."

I nod in understanding. That explains the weird tone he said it with.

[]

We all help clean up after breakfast and we're pretty much done when I hear the front door open suddenly and someone enter the mansion. I freeze in place, as well as Adelaide, Sean, and Kenna, who all have better than average hearing.

Alex immediately notices and starts scanning for a threat. Charles explains before anyone's hearts combust from adrenalin.

"Don't worry, that's just another student," he tells us with a small smile.

"Is that what we are here?" Emma wants to know, but then a boy about my age walks in and barely spares us a glance before handing a set of keys to Scott.

"Here, I filled up the tank."

And then he walks out of the kitchen again, leaving all of us mutants staring after him.

Charles sighs, "That was Jonathan Bradley. He's a mutant."

"What does he do?" Akemi asks while staring at the room he went into, apparently not caring about us.

"Computer brain," Scott says, earning a light slap from the towel in Jean's hand.

"What? It's true!"

"And he can detect mutant signatures," Gabby says.

"Mutant signatures?" I ask, because what?

"To me, it looks like every living thing has a visual signature, kind of like a pattern I can see when I focus on them, and it tells me a lot about them." The boy, who is apparently Jonathan, says as he walks through the kitchen again on his way to the other room.

"Like an aura?" I ask his retreating back.

He scoffs without turning around. "No, what I see is actually real, not a mythical thing."

Not sure I like this guy.

"They're pretty real to me, since I can see them. They also help me figure out if someone's a mutant," I tell him, trying really hard not to add something like _'so you're not that special, hun'_ because that would be a terrible first impression.

The telepaths in the room laugh quietly, making me think I may have projected that one a little.

But seriously, we have weird abilities and he's just going to outright dismiss auras?

In the end, it doesn't matter because he doesn't even pause in his journey to…wherever he's going in this massive mansion.

Erik sighs. "He's tough to get along with in the beginning, but you'll warm up to each other."

"Careful, Lensherr, that sounded suspiciously like a lie." I mutter mostly to myself, but he heard it, judging by his lifted eyebrow and overall amused expression.

[]

The others decide to explore the mansion some more while Alex and I decide there's no time like the present to begin learning about ourselves. Gabby is eager to agree, though Jean makes sure to give us an out a few times, and make sure we know we can stop whenever.

Honestly, I just want to get it over with. If Alex has a differing opinion, he keeps it to himself, but he keeps fidgeting with nervous energy.

Professor Xavier, Gabby, and Jean lead us to an elevator off the main hallway. Logan joins us before the doors close. I don't know why I expect us to go up, but we go down instead. Since I'm from Florida, where we don't have things below ground level, typically, I forget buildings can have basements and sub-levels.

The doors open again to a very white hallway that looks futuristic. There are multiple corridors and alcoves, and I imagine this level is just as maze-like as the mansion floors above.

"We have a hangar, labs, a clinic, training rooms, and some other things like storage down here," Gabby says, leading us down the hallway and waving her hand, opening a door with a quiet mechanical whir.

That must be her technopathy.

Alex and I are walking shoulder to shoulder, and I feel him shudder as we walk into the room.

Gabby is already writing things in her notebook, but I don't know what she could possibly be taking notes on right now. Jean is logging into a laptop on one of the desks, presumably to get ready. Logan passes by me to sit himself in a chair near Jean's desk, and Professor Xavier follows him, maybe to stay out of the way.

I remain barely in the doorway, and Alex doesn't seem too inclined to move either. I feel my pulse pick up while he starts taking really deep breaths and Logan seems to be the only to notice, but he's watching through half-closed eyes. Probably to let us decide what we're going to do.

"It just looks so similar," Alex murmurs to me, too quiet to be heard unless you're Logan with good hearing, or a telepath listening in. So actually, most of the room could've heard. But they're involved in getting the lab ready, including the professor chiming in from his wheelchair, so it was essentially only loud enough for me to hear.

"A little," I say, but when I look up at him, his eyes are closed as he breathes deeply, so I don't know how closely he actually looked at the room. I decide to look closer for both of us.

"It's actually bigger than the labs I was in," I start, "and the lighting is less harsh. It feels more like a doctor's office to me," and looking at it that way is actually calming me down a little.

I look up at Alex, and he's cracked one eye open. I guess at first glance it's similar enough to induce some panic, but I think that's mostly because some of the equipment looks similar, and honestly do they even make these machines not in chrome?

I think I voiced the last bit out loud in an attempt to convince myself, because Logan chuckles lightly, and I don't think it's because of anything the others said.

Alex finally has both eyes open and turns his head to look at me, and by mutual agreement we start further into the room, still shoulder to shoulder.

"First, I'd like to draw some blood," Gabby says, turning to us for the first time since we walked in.

"Nope, I'm out," I say, immediately spinning around to walk out the door, but Alex catches my hand.

"Uh-uh, you are not leaving me here alone, and you are definitely not chickening out over something all doctor's offices do," he says, pulling a little on my hand to pull me back to his side, but I dig my heels in a little.

I'm strong enough that he can't pull me anywhere I don't want to go. But he also knows this, which is why he steps toward me and hauls me over his shoulder.

Which startles the hell out of me and I yelp in surprise and shout, "Alex!"

"You are not leaving me alone down here," he repeats mildly. And I start laughing at how ridiculous this feels, being carries over his shoulder across a lab. But it's also funny and fun, and both of those are something I need more of right now.

When he puts me down, next to Gabby, I'm still laughing, and Alex is smirking slightly, and I notice everyone else looks varying levels of shocked. The laughter, and my enjoyment of the others' expressions, lets me get through having blood drawn. I still shake a little, but manage to help Alex through it as well.

Whatever strength we were pulling from doesn't last to the EKG, for whatever reason. Everyone except Gabby, Jean, and Alex move to the other side of the room, ostensibly to give me some privacy while the electrodes are attached. The move is more likely due to the panic-induced growls. Gabby was trying to attach them, but only got one before her hands began shaking too hard from fear.

Fear of me. Which didn't help me calm down.

Jean takes over, but I'm still growling and slowly getting louder. I'm not sure why the mere attachment of the electrodes is causing this, but my body and instincts are not listening to any of the logic my brain is providing. After two more electrodes even Jean begins to shake, her brain telling her to get away, and the scent of Gabby and Jean's combined fear is pushing me further into fight or flight response. I really don't want to hurt anyone.

I'm so focused on keeping myself under control, and failing miserably, that I don't realize my eyes are screwed shut. At least, not until I hear Alex call my name. I open my eyes, still growling, and meet his stare.

His stare which causes me to stop mid-growl and shift from panic to angry determination as he refuses to look away.

Alex's eyes are brighter than usual, his expression set in determination I haven't seen since we left the lab. Without looking away from his eyes, I also notice his hands are clenched into fists, and his ability is sparking slightly.

I realize for the first time since we first met in the overcrowded and panicked event that Alex is just as dangerous as I am. It makes my animal nature sit up and demand he cede dominance to me.

He doesn't submit, instead stepping closer causing me to growl again, louder. His flinch is barely there, but his continued refusal to gives up launches me to a new level of anger, making me all the more dangerous.

It's the sharp bite of danger that pulls me up short, and I remember who Alex is to me: a friend, maybe a confidant, but definitely an ally.

Coincidentally, my realization happens at the same instant he finally looks away, panting with the effort of holding my stare. I'm not sure if he noticed my epiphany before he was truly in danger from me, but he doesn't seem concerned.

The others in the room loose the breath they were holding, and the scent of nervousness permeates in the air.

Alex looks back to me, smug, and I realize the last seven electrodes have been attached to me. He intentionally triggered a stare down knowing it would supersede whatever fear I was experiencing. Gabby and Jean look relieved.

"Stupid jerk," I mutter to no one in particular, not making eye contact with Alex. He huffs a laugh anyway.

The rest of the tests that day go off without a hitch.

[]

Lunch happened in the lab between important tests, but for dinner we all meet up again with the other mutants.

I spend most of dinner listening to Mason recount their explorations of the mansion, and everything he learned. He's taken a liking to the other mutant, Jonathan Bradley, even though Jonathan appears less than enthusiastic about his new sidekick.

Gabby doesn't eat with us, choosing instead to take dinner to the lab and continue going over our results. The other mutants don't want to talk about our time in the lab today, and that's fine. Gabby and Jean want to do some more tomorrow, or the next day if we would prefer that. I don't want to take a break, but I haven't talked to Alex about it yet, and I'm even less interested in doing it by myself.

I finally corner Alex after dinner on the pool deck.

"That was stupid today," I tell him, not giving him any warning I'm behind him.

He doesn't jump, though, and he doesn't play stupid either. "I had to do it,"

"You didn't. I could've reacted badly. Then what would you have done?" I spit, angrier about it than I had realized.

"You weren't going to hurt me."

"You don't know that. I don't even know that."

"I do. You let me distract you," he says, still looking out to the trees, and sounding so sure.

"I didn't, I wasn't in control," I'm practically grinding my teeth with how frustrated I am that he can't see the danger I pose to him.

"I don't believe that," and he's so serene where I'm angry that I can't help it so I shove him in the shoulder, just slightly, just enough that he sways in place but maintains his balance.

"Then what do you believe?" I ask.

"I believe in you. You've kept us together, we owe you at least a little help sometimes." And he's still staring at those damn trees.

Meanwhile I'm at a loss for words. Still marveling at the naivety of such a statement when he finally turns to see me staring, says goodnight, and walks back inside.

I don't even bother going to my room before shifting and taking off into the night sky.

When I finally expend my excess energy and feel ready to sleep, I return to find the silhouette on the second floor waiting up for me again.


End file.
